Breaking Ranks: Exodus
by myperfectnightmare00
Summary: While a new enemy approaches, there's an old one running rampant throughout the galaxy. Mia's got a lot cut out for her this time around, but at least she has John and her friends by her side. And those who play with fire always get burned. John/OC Book 3
1. Chapter 1 - Homecoming

**Hi guys! Man it's so weird to be posting again but I am excited about it. Also I feel like I'm going to cry from all of your wonderful and supportive words for me. I honestly cried at reading all of them. It's what I love about FanFiction community. Everyone is just so supportive, it honestly just-ugh I can't put it into words but just thank you! I know it's been a long wait and this first chapter is very angsty and it did take me a while to write it up cause I had to sort of get in the groove of Mia's head again. This season is going to be so exciting and honestly I can't believe we're on season 3! Anyway I'm going to stop talking now and let you all read!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 1: Homecoming._

* * *

In the grand scheme of things—we are just tiny specs of dust. Think about it, in all of our explorations to different planets and even galaxies. When you really think about it, we're all just tiny ants compared to the vast expanse of the universe.

Humans come and go, we've been doing it for thousands of years. Every second another human is born into the worlds around us, and another one dies—it's the way of life. What you choose to do with that life—well that's a whole other story.

My life, however, has not been a straight line. It's had ups and downs. Potholes and speed bumps. It's had black holes and sinkholes and everything in between. I've lost people who were important to me, but I also gained friends who I would do anything for.

I also met a man. Not just any man. His name is John Sheppard. He's my commanding officer here on Atlantis. We started a relationship in secret, knowing that if we were found out it'd be the end for both of our careers. It went great, then not so great—then great again.

His name is John Sheppard—and then I lost him too.

 **X**

Standing on the balcony, staring up at the night sky used to be my favorite pastime. The moon shining down on me, the stars twinkling above me, and the salty air twisting my honey coloured hair around my face and neck.

Now, instead of gazing up at the stars—I was searching. Searching for something I knew wasn't coming back. It wasn't really a some _thing_ , more like a some _one_. I kept thinking that if I looked hard enough, he'd appear in a spaceship, land in front of me and say some stupid cheesy line like ' _Honey, I'm home._ ' He'd bundle me up into one of his tight embraces; I'd smell his cologne and all my troubles would melt away. But he never would, not again.

John hadn't been the only one we had lost that day. From what I had heard, Rodney and Ronon had been aboard the Wraith hive ship when they had crossed up and left. The chance that they were alive was slim to none. Even with Ronon, I doubt the Satedan would have been able to overpower an entire hive ship full of Wraith. It had been a very sad and quiet few days around the base.

I looked down from the sky. I had spent the past two days out here desperately searching the skies, looking for a ship that wouldn't be picked up on our sensors. From the moonlight I could see the gentle waves lapping against the city. The sound of the ocean comforted me; it was able to relieve some of the sadness and guilt that I was feeling. Not a lot, but just a little bit. It had been mayhem around here the past two days. Everyone was panicking that the Wraith were going to make it to Earth, everyone had been working tirelessly to formulate a plan to intercept them before they made it too far. Elizabeth had commissioned the Orion and Daedalus to go after them, even in their damaged states. We were now just waiting on the word from Stargate Command and on our two battle ships for when they were in position to engage the Wraith.

I of course, had volunteered myself to lead the attack on the Orion. Elizabeth had refused, saying that with John and Rodney gone—I was her last surviving senior officer. She claimed that I was too valuable to risk. I disagreed. But I had gone along with it willingly; I didn't have the energy to fight anymore. As soon as this who Wraith fiasco was done with there were two options for me.

One; if we didn't get to the Wraith in time and they succeeded in getting to Earth. I'd be jumping ship immediately. I'd dial out to a friendly planet, maybe Keras' planet. Have my baby and live my life away from everything and everyone I ever knew.

Two; if the Wraith was destroyed and Earth was saved. I'd request a discharge from the army and go to Arizona. Reunite with granddad and Jenny. See Emily and have my baby there with them.

It was a grim thought, but I had to have a plan. I couldn't stay on Atlantis, not anymore. There were too many memories. And once I started showing there would be too many questions, questions that I never wanted to answer.

"Major?" I turned at the voice. My thoughts interrupted as Chuck the technician stood in the doorway. "Doctor Weir asked me to come get you. Stargate Command just dialed in."

"Thanks, Chuck," I said with a small smile, it was the least I was able to manage for him. Chuck had always been nice to me. He turned away and walked back inside. I took one last longing look up at the sky, sighed, and then headed in.

The room was quiet, except for the sound of the Stargate and Elizabeth already talking to General Landry. "In approximately one hour, the Wraith will drop out of hyperspace here," Elizabeth points to the star map on the plasma behind her. "It's just outside the Pegasus Galaxy. There, they will pause for fifteen hours. If Daedalus and Orion break orbit on our current schedule, they should be able to reach those coordinates in just under fourteen hours, best possible speed."

I watched Landry's unimpressed face. "A narrow window," he said.

"It's the only window, sir," Elizabeth stated firmly. Landry seemed to agree as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Understood. Now, the International Oversight Advisory want you to brief them on this matter," he explained.

Elizabeth glanced over at me and gave me a look as if to say 'this will be great'. She turned back to the screen. "When would you like me to dial in again?"

"You misunderstand me. I mean in person, and I mean right now. The President himself assigned—"

"I can't just leave, not now," Elizabeth interrupted Landry. Her shock and anger coming through in her voice. I totally agreed with her, she couldn't leave us. Landry looked like he wanted to agree with her but he couldn't.

"I'm afraid that's not up to you."

"She can't go," I said, butting in. "We need her here. How do you expect us to manage this if she's back on Earth?"

Landry gave me a stern look for talking. "I'm sure there are many there who can be a liaison for Doctor Weir while she is here. Now, if you don't mind—they're waiting for you in my office, Doctor Weir."

Elizabeth gave me another look; she was hesitant to step through it. We both knew that there was a chance she wasn't going to be coming back. "I see," she muttered. Elizabeth picked up the nearest laptop, which had all of our data on it. She turns to me with trepidation on her face. "Major. We are expecting several teams to return from their missions. Once that happens, I'd like to suspend all gate travel until this whole thing is over."

I nodded. "Sure thing." Elizabeth smiled at me. Ever since the news that John was gone, she had been increasingly nice to me. It wasn't to say that she wasn't pleasant to me anyway, but the way she treated me was different. I had been late to three meetings in two days and had snapped at four different personnel on the base and yet she never reprimanded me on it. I felt like she knew, or she had suspicions but was too afraid to ask me outright.

"I'll need you to dial in once the Daedalus is ready," she continued.

"Of course," I said with a curt nod. Elizabeth gave the control room a quick look around. I could tell that she was taking everything in. She knew there was a possibility that she might not come back. "Everything will be fine, Elizabeth," I told her.

She gave me a tight smile. "Thank you. I'll see you soon." With that she walked to the stairs. She approached the Stargate and didn't look back as she stepped through.

"Close the gate, Chuck," I told the technician. Chuck followed my orders. "Let me know if anything changes with the Daedalus. And schedule a dial in with Stargate Command in eight hours."

"Affirmative," Chuck said. Noting something down in his computer. I clapped him gently on the shoulder and started to move away.

"Major Sumner?" I turned, looking at Chuck. He gave me a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry about Colonel Sheppard—just wanted you to know that."

From the look in Chuck's eyes, I knew that he had an idea. He wouldn't have said it otherwise. I fought back the tears but gave my thanks to Chuck and hurried out of the room before he saw me start to cry.

* * *

It was stressful to be in command of Atlantis. If I ever saw Elizabeth again I really needed to thank her for all the work she did, especially in times of crisis. There were so many papers to sign and reports to look over—I don't know how she does it. I held the tablet in my hand as I went over the final report of our last off-world team to arrive home as I headed to the infirmary. Carson had radioed me and asked me to come down to him for something. What that something was, I didn't know.

I entered the infirmary, closing the tablet and tucking it under my arm as I found Carson at the back. He had a steaming mug of coffee in his hand as she was looking at something on his laptop screen.

"Hey," I said, calling out to him. Since the news broke that John was gone, Carson had been helping me a lot. All our disagreements had been forgiven and forgotten. We both understood that at this point in time, we all needed to stick together if we were going to get through this. Me especially.

Carson turned in his desk chair; he smiled over at me and took a long drink from his coffee. "How are you today, love?"

"Fine, as much as I can be at this point in time," I leaned against the wall casually as Carson rose from his chair.

"I've been putting off asking because of everything that's happened recently," Carson said. I watched him walk over to one of the scanners as he flipped a switch as the connecting screen lit up. My eyes flicked between the scanner and Carson, not understanding. Carson could see my confusion as he gave me a sincere smile. "I know it's not exactly how you might have planned it. But we are coming up on your eighth week, I thought—that maybe…you'd like to have your first ultrasound."

My eyes looked at the scanner once more. The machine was slowly coming to life; I could hear the deep purring of the internal gears, as the actual scanner started moving along it. Carson had suddenly appeared at my side; I hadn't even seen him walk up to me.

"I understand if it's still too soon. I'm sure this isn't the way you planned for this first time to happen." I tore my eyes away from the scanner and to Carson. He was searching my face for an answer that I couldn't give him verbally. He reached out to me, his hand gently grasping my arm in reassurance. "I'll turn it off. We can do it another day."

"No," I said without hesitation. Carson glanced back at me, surprise on his face. "I want to do it," I continued. "It doesn't matter if I do it today or in three days, the outcome will still be the same anyway."

"It's not about the outcome, Mia," Carson said kindly. "It's if _you're_ ready for this."

I scoffed, running my hand through my hair to loosen up the curls. "How can I ever be ready for this, Carson? I never will be, but I have to be."

Carson didn't reply to me. He pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded. He took the tablet from me and set it down on his desk. He then wheeled the large scanner into another section of the infirmary as I followed willingly. Carson drew the curtains around us and after he turned back to me.

"Do you want me to get Teyla?"

I shook my head. "You're here. That's all I need." I hopped up onto the bed. I heard Carson sigh heavily as he placed the scanner over me. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat and my heart start to race.

"This machine is a lot different than the ones back on Earth. Whereas we have to use and actual sensor against your skin this machine pretty much does it from all the way back here. It's completely harmless, don't worry."

"I'm fine," I said, closing my eyes.

"Shouldn't be too long now…just got to get it going," Carson muttered to himself. I could hear him pressing buttons and whatnot on the machine. Just as I heard the scanner start to move the comms crackled overhead.

" _Major Sumner please report to the control room immediately!"_

I opened my eyes and sat up on the bed. "Wait, Mia—"

"Sorry, Carson. Maybe another time," I said as I was already halfway out the room with the tablet in my hand.

 **X**

I ran into the control room, my gaze going immediately to Chuck. "What's going on?"

He spun around in his chair and motioned to the long-range communication system. "We just lost communication with the Daedalus and Orion."

"What?" I gasped out. "What happened?" I asked him as Chuck started to try and repair the system.

"I'm not sure. Colonel Caldwell radioed in that they had engaged the Wraith. I think they managed to take out one Wraith hive ship before we lost contact with them."

"You think the Daedalus was destroyed?" I asked him, taking a seat at one of the chairs and going over the communication logs.

Chuck shook his head. "I'm still picking up the Daedalus on the long range scanner."

"Orion?" I asked. I met Chuck's gaze as he shook his head. "Dammit. There aren't any Stargates near them for us to go to. And it's too long a fly by puddle jumper."

Chuck scooted over to the long-range scanner screen and hit a few commands on the computer. I followed after him as we both stared at the screen.

"There's still one hive ship in the vicinity." I could confirm his words by staring at the little red blimp on the screen. The blue dot was the Daedalus.

"If we lost contact with them it must mean that their ship was damaged. If neither of them are destroyed we have to assume that maybe both ships have been damaged. I know that Caldwell would've done everything he can to make sure their weapons system was disabled first. It's basic war tactics."

Chuck agreed with a nod. "It's plausible. What do you want us to do?" I stared at Chuck for a moment. I had forgotten that I was in control of Atlantis. It was strange from them to be waiting for my word; generally I was receiving orders.

I took a quick glance around the room, meeting the gazes of a few other technicians in the room. "I want the scanner to be watched constantly. Any new development I need to know about it. And someone keep trying the radio, they may get their communications back online and I want to know the second that happens." Chuck and a few others nodded. "Dial Stargate Command too. I need to brief Doctor Weir on what's happened." Chuck scooted back to the control system and started dialing the gate.

I sighed and rubbed my face. How many more were we going to loose?

After briefing Elizabeth on the situation, I had taken up the seat in her office. She had allowed me to do so for the time being. She didn't know how long she would be on Earth, apparently the IOA were giving her a massive headache about the whole Wraith debacle. I sat with my arms crossed on her desk. The tablet in front of me continued with its data transfer as I stared at the corner of the room.

It had been horrible watching Elizabeth's face drop when I told her about the Daedalus and Orion. She was thankful that we had stopped one, but again she was at a loss for words at the lack of communication we had with the Daedalus right now. That was if anyone was still alive on the ship. It had been seven hours since we had lost communication with them, and still nothing. They hadn't even moved from their position on the scanner, neither had the Wraith ship.

My mind was in a constant loop. I was thinking of all the horrible things that could've befallen the crew. They could have lost life support, which explains why the ship is still there but no communication. They could just have damaged engines and radios, but that was very unlikely.

I heard a knock on the glass window. My eyes focused on Teyla as she gave me a gentle smile and stepped into the office. "I came to see how you are," she took a seat in the chair opposite me. I rubbed my hands over my tired eyes and through my messy hair.

"Tired. I just keep thinking about all the people we've lost. John, Rodney, Ronon." I paused. "Lorne, Zelenka—even Caldwell. As much as I hated the guy I never wanted to see him dead—any of them."

"There may still be hope for them," Teyla tried to reassure me. She reached across the desk, hoping that I would take her offered hand. I pulled away and leaned back in the chair.

"For Lorne, Radek and Caldwell maybe. But what are the chances of Rodney and Ronon still being alive? They were on the hive ship when they betrayed us—chances are they were the first to die in this whole thing." Teyla looked like she agreed but just didn't want to admit it. I got it; it was hard to admit that the people you thought of like a family was gone. Lucky for me I had been through this enough times to be a pro at hiding my emotions and dealing with it all later.

I saw Carson heading towards us over Teyla's shoulder. I suppressed my groan at his appearance. He was without a doubt probably going to get me to come back down to the infirmary for another scan. "Any update on the Daedalus?" Carson asked me. I shook my head.

"No, nothing. Chuck keeps trying the radio though. We even came up with a way for them to try and respond with Morse code. It's complicated but if they had the power they should've responded by now." Carson hung his head slightly. He had taken the news hard. I suppose it was just his personality, being a Doctor and all. He hated the fact that people were dying. We all did, but he always took death the hardest out of all of us.

Carson gave me a hopeful smile. "Any chance I can steal you away to finish that scan off?" I knew he was going to ask me.

"What scan?" Teyla asked, her brow furrowing as she looked between the two of us.

"Carson—" I started to protest but the good doctor cut me off.

"It's a scan to see the baby, Teyla. Mia's been putting it off for a few days now." Teyla suddenly beamed over at me as I gave them both a blank look.

"With good reason," I stated bitterly. Reminding them of the fact that I have in fact lost the father of my baby and a lot of friends. Carson and Teyla both looked apologetic. I could feel the sting of tears just thinking about John. I had been avoiding thinking about him for right now. I knew that if I let myself have a breakdown like I did with Carson days ago, I wouldn't be able to get anything done. And right now Atlantis needed me more.

"Look," I said to both of them. "This is not the time and place for this. Carson I will do your stupid scan when this is all over. Right now I have work to do." I pointed to the tablet on the desk that had just finished decoding the last logs the Daedalus sent us before we lost them. Carson agreed immediately. Teyla looking down at her feet in respect to the ones we had lost.

"Major Sumner?"

"Yes?" I snapped, a little bit too harshly at Chuck. The man didn't seem to be fazed at my tone as he peered around Carson's shoulder. I saw the panic on his face and jumped to my feet instantly.

"You need to come see this."

Chuck turned as I hurried around the desk and onto the catwalk. I could hear Teyla and Carson following along quietly but nervously. Chuck took me to the long-range scanner screen. "The Daedalus is gone."  
"What?"

"I was keeping tabs on both the Wraith and Daedalus ships. It happened before my eyes, it's just gone."

"The Wraith destroyed the ship you mean?" Teyla tried to clarify. I heard Carson gasp from behind me.

"Oh no!"

I focused on the screen. It was as Chuck said. The little blue dot was gone. The Wraith ship was all that remained. I suddenly felt ill. I leaned against the nearest desk, holding my hand to my mouth as I took in deep breaths. Carson was too preoccupied with his own emotions to notice. Teyla looked like she was crying but was trying to hide it.

"That's not all," Chuck said ominously. He clicked something on the keyboard as the plasma screen suddenly showed a familiar planet. "They've started moving. Their current course will bring them to Atlantis in fourteen hours."

"Why would they come here? And not continue on to Earth?" Carson asked. I could hear his voice trembling.

I sighed. "We surprised them with the Orion. They're probably coming back to make sure we have no other ships in waiting. That and probably to wipe us out for good this time."

"What shall we do?" Teyla asked, turning to me for guidance.

I thought it over for a minute or two. "Start the evacuation of your people. We can use the drone chair for our defense. The rail guns are still mounted all over the city from the last siege. We'll take out the hive ship on our own and show the Wraith that we are _not_ to be taken lightly anymore. Dial Earth, Chuck. They really need to know what is going on."

"Sure thing," Chuck said with a nod. Teyla grasped my arm and gave me a light squeeze before she hurried off to start evacuating her people. Carson remained at my side as the gate was dialed out.

* * *

"What's our status?" I called out loudly as I entered the control room. All the technicians were hurrying about the room. Getting prepped for the incoming hive ship.

"All rail guns are manned and operational. Doctor Beckett just radioed and said that he's ready in the control chair." Chuck told me as I took a seat next to him.

"Good. What's the status on the hive ship?" I called out to someone else.

"T-minus 15 minutes!"

"Dial Earth," I ordered Chuck as he obliged. I waited patiently for the wormhole to establish. When it was connected Chuck patched me through to them with the video screen.

"Stargate Command this is Atlantis."

"I'm here, Major," Elizabeth's voice came through loud and clear as her own face appeared on the screen for me. It had only been just over a day since she had left, but it felt like I hadn't seen her in months. "Any word about our people?"

"None." I said with a shake of my head. Elizabeth sighs sadly but composes herself. "The hive ship that we have been tracking is still on its way here. It's going to arrive shortly."

"Activate the cloak," Elizabeth ordered as Chuck obliged and pressed the correct commands. We waited patiently for a few seconds for the cloak to take effect.

"Cloak engaged," Chuck said.

"What about our defenses?" Elizabeth asked me.

"All rail gun positions are manned and operational. Doctor Beckett is in the control chair awaiting my order." I told her. Elizabeth looked as pleased as she could be considering the circumstances.

"Patch me through to him, please," Elizabeth asked as Chuck did as she said. They spoke for a few moments, Carson voicing his displeasure at having to sit in the chair. He even kicked up a fuss as to why I wasn't sitting in there. Elizabeth's reasoning was that I had to monitor the situation from the control room and be in charge. I couldn't do that from the control chair room. Carson had grumbled something under his breath that none of us heard but still caused me to chuckle.

"How did the evacuations go?" Elizabeth asked, finishing her conversation with Carson.

"Most of the Athosians have gated to the Alpha site and all non essential personnel have also been gated off world."

Elizabeth managed a smile. "Good work, Major. I knew I could count on you to handle this."

"Don't thank me yet," I muttered. "We're still not out of this."

"Of course," she said somberly.

"Hive ship just dropped out of hyperspace!" Chuck announced to the others and me. I spun around to our sensor screen.

"Carson, stand by," I told him into my radio. Something beeped on Chuck's computer as he leaned over to it.

"I'm receiving a signal."

" _Atlantis, this is Sheppard. Come in."_ My heart skipped a beat and my throat closed up for a second when I heard his voice. It couldn't be…he was dead—everyone told me that he was gone. His ship had been destroyed. My legs began to tremble as the tears welled up in my eyes.

"John?" I said in relief. I hoped I wasn't imagining this.

"They made it?" I heard Elizabeth cry in amazement. I wasn't imagining it then. He really was alive.

" _We're out of food and water and we haven't slept in days but, yeah, we made it._ " I had never been so happy to hear his voice in my life. I tilted my head back, a smile on my face as the tears ran down my cheeks. They were all alive. I couldn't believe it. " _So now would be a good time to not fire on us. After all, we wouldn't want to damage our new hive ship."_

"What about everyone else?" Elizabeth asked from her transmission. I could hear the desperation in her voice.

" _All personnel accounted for."_

" _Speak for yourself!"_ A new voice cut in. I laughed, mostly out of relief. I never thought I'd be happy to hear Rodney's voice. " _I was kidnapped by the Wraith and left in a cocoon for God knows how long. There were probably five—maybe six times I could've died on this mission!"_

" _Good news is they didn't get a chance to feed on him."_ I could even hear the eye roll that John was no doubt doing towards the scientist.

"It's good to hear all your voices," Elizabeth said. I could hear the quiver in her voice. She was no doubt just as relieved as I am to hear them safe and sound. "I'd love to hear how you managed to weasel your ways out of this one."

" _You'll be the first to hear it._ " John said to her.

She grinned. "I can't wait. Come home guys, you've earned it."

" _On our way, Sheppard out."_

I sagged against the desk, a heavy sigh releasing from my lips. Finally, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. John was alive, he truly was. It hadn't been a hallucination, he had been speaking and joking around. He was alive, Rodney and Ronon too. Even Lorne and Zelenka. I hadn't lost anyone.

* * *

I was running the to East dock. The Daedalus had hitched a ride in between the hive ship like we had planned, which was why we couldn't detect the ship. But even so, the Asgard beaming technology was down for the time being so that meant everyone had to resort to the hive ship carriers, which were going to ferry people back and forth for the time being until it was operational again.

They were landing on the East dock. Rodney, Ronon and John would be arriving home shortly. I couldn't wait to hug each of them. I was just so ecstatic that they were safe. I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I hurried down the stairs two at a time. I ran through the corridors. I could hear the engine from the hive ship landing on the dock.

I reached the large double doors as they opened slowly, and in poured the group from the Daedalus. All of their faces were relieved to be stepping on solid ground. I scanned the group of people, looking for familiar faces that I could squeeze and hug. I spotted Ronon first; it wasn't like he was hard to miss. He towered over all of the others. His head was angled to the side, talking to someone. I could see now that it was Rodney. They looked to be discussing something important but I interrupted them as I ran straight into Rodney. He let out a grunt, as I slammed into him hard and wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" I cried in relief. I felt Rodney relax for a fraction of a second. One of his hands tapped my back in reassurance as I pulled away from him to see his face.

"Tired and hungry, but yeah, I'm ok. Fought off a few Wraith too."

I laughed. "Of course you did." I didn't believe him in the slightest but he could have told me that he lost his entire ego and I would've believed him right now. I turned to Ronon and launched myself at him. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall as I managed to grasp my arms around his torso, barely.

"I thought I'd lost all of you," I said, my cheek pressed against Ronon's dirty and sticky shirt. I felt Ronon's arm land on my shoulder in a one armed hug. He removed it as quickly as he had put it there and I took it as my signal to let him go. I wiped my eyes quickly, not wanting them to see the tears.

The door opened once again and I felt my body freeze. John and Caldwell had both emerged from the dock. They were speaking together about something that I couldn't hear.

Ronon, having the sense that Rodney didn't. Ushered them both away down the hall and left me to stare at the man I loved and thought that had died. He looked perfect to me. His hair was scruffy, his clothes crimpled and he had a heavy five o'clock shadow across his face. I started walking towards him, hoping that he would see me very soon.

He did. Our eyes met as John looked away from Caldwell for a moment. From here I could make out the vibrant color of his hazel eyes. I couldn't wait to hold him again, to feel his breathing and warm body against mine. John said something to Caldwell as he held up one finger to his face. Caldwell looked from John to me. He paused for a moment. A flash of realization went across his face as he pressed his lips into a firm line and walked off in another direction. Leaving me to finally run up to John.

I threw my arms around him at the same time that he pulled me to him in a fierce hug. I could feel his fingers digging into my jacket as he held me to him. "Thank God you're alright," I whispered to him, pressing my face against his chest. "I thought you were dead, John."

"I'm sorry," John said to me. His voice was like honey. It washed over me. It was one thing to hear his voice over a radio but to actually hear him speak next to my ear and holding me. I couldn't wish for anything more right now.

"You can't do this to me anymore. The next time you are pronounced dead I swear I'm going to have a heart attack."

John chuckled, his chest vibrating against my cheek. "I'll try not to anymore." I felt his lips press against the top of my head. I pulled away and wiped at my cheeks, ridding myself of the tears that I had shed at seeing him and holding him once more. I shook my head at him.

"It's not that…you just—can't suddenly risk your life anymore. You have to think about the future." I told him seriously. Of course this was not me telling him that I didn't want him leaving Atlantis. I just wanted him to stop taking stupid risks. Caldwell had told him to return to the Daedalus but he had refused. And it was sheer luck that he hadn't been killed like we all had been thinking for half a week.

"I know, Mia. I know that I'm lucky to be alive. I'll try to keep the suicide missions to a minimum from now on," he smirked down at me.

I shook my head. "No, John that's not what I'm trying to say. I—I…there's something I need to show you."

* * *

 **God am I evil or what for leaving you on a goddamn cliffhanger on the first chapter. So yeah, John's alive we all knew this from the show I wasn't going to pull a George. R. R Martin on you lot hahah but now you'll just have to wait to see if Mia tells him about the baby next chapter! Also, how is Mia gonna react to finding out that Michael actually saved them all? Can't wait for that conversation to unfold mwahah.**

 **Not sure when I'll have the next chapter out as I'm still trying to find time and motivation to sit down and write for long periods of time. At the moment I can only manage an hour or two of writing before I have to do something else, whereas before I could smash out a 10 page chapter in like 5 hours.**

 **Again I love you all so so so much and again thank you for your continued support. Let's have an amazing time together while I write and you guys read Season 3!**


	2. Chapter 2 - I guess I'm your dad

.

 **Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 2: I guess I'm your dad._

* * *

"What are we doing here? The Doc on the Daedalus already gave me a clean bill of health when she checked me over," John asked, confusion in his voice as I led him to the infirmary.

"Just…be patient—please," I told him as we both walked into the infirmary together. John looked down at me with uncertainty but followed me nonetheless. Carson was waiting for us; I had radioed ahead and told him that I was bringing John down here. The Doctor looked relieved to see John as Carson beamed at him. "Colonel! It's so good to see you alive and well."

"Thanks, Carson. Look I really don't need to be checked over," John said, looking between Carson and me. I went and stood next to the scanner. "I'm fine, really."

"I didn't bring you here for you," I told him with a smirk. John's brows furrowed, his gaze met mine as I turned and hopped up onto the bed. Carson moved the scanner over me as I held my breath.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" John said, moving closer to my bed. He was worried, as he should be. He had gone on another suicide mission; I was allowed to torture him for a few more minutes. Carson gave me a pointed look but started the scanner up. It started moving up and down my body and then twisted so it looped under the bed and back up.

It took a few minutes, and I could feel the anxiety creeping up. What if John reacted badly to finding out this way? To be fair, this was the only way I could think of doing it. If I tried to tell him in my own words I'd screw it up somehow. John was probably beside himself with worry, he probably thought I was dying or something.

"Ok, you can get up now," Carson said to me as he pulled the scanner away. I sat up, John walking to me and grasping onto my arm tightly but not painfully.

"What is going on?"

I gave him a small smile. "You'll see." John looked like he wanted to throttle me at how annoying I was being. Carson cleared his throat and diverted our attention over to the screen that was a few feet away from the bed and scanner. He flicked it on and moved back a little, allowing John and I to watch the screen light up in a dark green hue. On the screen, a 3D image popped up and started turning slowly. I felt myself smile automatically as I stared at the little blob in the middle. It was hardly distinguishable; there were no features, just a tiny little mass that was probably no bigger than 5cms.

John still had a grip on my arm. I glanced up at him, wanting to see if he had figured it out already. He was staring at the screen, his mouth was parted slightly. Was he breathing? I couldn't see his chest moving.

"From the measurements and from what I can see. I'd say you're in your ninth week, Mia." Carson told me with a smile. The Doctor was probably happier than me to finally have this scan out of the way. Carson looked between the both of us for a few moments. "I'll leave you two for a moment." I gave Carson and silent nod of thanks as I watched him walk away. I took a deep breath and faced John; his eyes were still glued to the screen.

"Do you want to sit down?" I asked him, gently touching his arm. It seemed to jolt him out of his thoughts as he looked down at me. His eyes were still wide and full of questions.

"What…is this what-" He couldn't even finish his sentence. I wanted to help him understand, so I took his right hand in my own and placed it over my lower stomach. He flinched slightly at the move, but then his fingers relaxed after a few seconds.

"It's a baby, John. Our baby." My bottom lip quivered. It felt so good to be saying it to him out loud finally. I had been holding it in for so long now, and I had even thought that I would never get to tell him.

John looked between my stomach and then to the screen a few times before it finally seemed to set in. "A baby?"

I nodded. "Yes. I wanted to tell you a few weeks ago when I found out, but I didn't know how. I didn't know how you would react. I was so scared and everything with the Wraith was going on that I didn't want to add any more stress to you—and then you left on the Daedalus and I never got the chance and then everyone told me you were dead and I'm just so sorry! I felt so guilty—"

I couldn't speak anymore. Partly because my throat had become so choked up that during my little speech I had started sobbing and I'm pretty sure half of what I said was unintelligible. The other part was because John had taken my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. I felt my whole body relax against his as we kissed. It felt like I had just come home from a long trip away. My body felt complete and whole around him. And now he finally knew about the baby, I didn't have to keep it a secret from him anymore.

I pulled away from him, placing my hands over both of his wrists as I stared up into his eyes. I was trying to find any bad emotion on his face. Something that would let me know that he wasn't happy. But all I could see was joy.

"You don't need to apologize," John told me.

"But, John," I said hesitantly. "What are we going to do? When people start to find out—"

"We don't need to worry about that right now," John said. One of his hands came up and caressed my cheek. He brushed my hair back away from my face. "There's only one thing we need to worry about now." John kissed me again. A hand moved from my face down to my side as he gently caressed the side of my stomach. "Everything else comes second. Even us."

I gave him a watery smile. I was just filled with so much happiness. John had accepted the baby; he had accepted me not telling him. His reaction couldn't have gotten any better. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. The sobs started again as I held him so tightly I thought I'd squeeze the life out of him. John hugged me just as tightly back as we stood there in each other's embrace.

It was only when I heard an unfamiliar sniffling that I pulled away from John. It sounded like someone was crying but it wasn't John. He too was just as confused as I was. I glanced over my shoulder and grinned when I saw Carson holding some tissues to his eyes and wiped them quickly.

"I just…" he blubbered. "It's such a miracle!" I gave Carson a smile as I hurried over to him and embraced him tightly in my arms. He let out another sob as he hugged me back.

* * *

I walked through the corridors with a slight spring in my step. Everything was finally good. A ginormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. For now I could relax and enjoy my time and not worry about anything, until a new crisis popped up again. I passed by familiar faces as I smiled and waved. Some of them gave me weird looks, obviously not used to this happy and carefree version of me.

As I was walking I spotted someone who I needed to speak with. Colonel Caldwell wasn't someone I would willingly seek out to have a conversation with but in these circumstances I actually needed him on my side. "Colonel!" I called out to him. He had been speaking with one of his technicians. He glanced up and saw me and then waved off his man and told him that he would catch up later.

"Major," Caldwell nodded to me as I fell into step by his side. To be fair the Colonel and I had sort of been getting along a lot better since the whole incident with Phebus and Thalen. It was new ground to the both of us…baby steps—or whatever.

"I'm glad everyone got home safely. For a while there…" I trailed off, not wanting to word it out loud anymore.

"Agreed," Caldwell nodded. "It's been a long few days for everyone."

"Right." I paused and fidgeted with my shirt. "Colonel, I wanted to talk to you about something." Caldwell stopped us from walking as he faced me. He looked down at me perplexedly.

"Go on."

"It's about what you may have seen and heard this morning." When Caldwell gave me a blank look I silently cursed the old dodger and took a deep breath. "When you and the others returned to the city…and I greeted some of the personnel…" I was, of course referring to the fact that Colonel Caldwell had seen John and I share a very intimate hug when I had seen him return to the city. I had definitely not missed the look of realization on his face as John had ditched him the moment he saw me. It had me worried; the reason because I knew that Caldwell had once wanted John's position. And if he still wanted that job, he now had the leverage to do so.

I could see on the Colonel's face that he finally knew exactly what I was talking about. Caldwell looked down the corridor and back to me. "What I saw was some close friends merely exchanging pleasantries."

My jaw dropped.

And then he continued to blow my mind.

"If anyone saw something inappropriate I would be more then happy to set the record straight."

I—I couldn't believe it. _What the actual fuck was happening?_ Was Caldwell actually turning a blind eye to this? Was I dreaming? Better yet was I _dead_? I must have looked like a complete and utter moron, standing there with a dumbfounded look on my face. Like someone had just told me that dogs could talk. Before I could structure a coherent sentence together Caldwell had started walking down the hall. I shook my head from my surprise.

"Colonel!" I called out to him. Caldwell stopped and turned back. "Why?" I asked him, generally wanting to know the answer.

Caldwell smiled—well smirked. "Colonel Sheppard is a good man. He saved every single one of my men. I think he deserves some kind of reward in return, don't you?"

I could have kissed the man. Ok—maybe not really, but I felt like I could have hugged him. But then that would actually mean _hugging_ Caldwell and I'm not sure how either one of us would feel about that. As I said…baby steps.

I watched the Colonel leave my line of sight, and then a giant grin spread across my face. I couldn't believe that Colonel Caldwell of all people had covered for us. Just what was going on with the world right now? Honestly what have I done in the past week to deserve this kind of good karma? I wasn't about to question it. I was trying to ignore the pessimist side of me right now; she wasn't going to ruin this for me.

I heard footsteps to my left, a lot of them. That was unusual at this time of day. I turned my head to look at the group of Marines marching by. My mind whirring, trying to figure out if something had happened. The pessimist side of me was jumping for joy right now.

That was until I saw just who the Marines were escorting.

"You son of a bitch!" I screeched loudly. Marines stared at me worriedly. And then _he_ just laughed at me. I felt my anger reach boiling point, seeing his face once more. Michael stared at me, his expression begging me to try and attack him. Well, I was about to give this bastard a piece of my mind.

I charged at the expecting Marines, intending to barrel my way through them to get a good punch in at Michael. I didn't even get close before I was grabbed, one arm held my shoulders another went around my stomach.

"Get off me!" I yelled, thrashing against their grip. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Calm down, Mia!" Lorne exclaimed, struggling against me. I didn't listen to him. All I wanted was blood, Michael's blood. He had to pay; he almost got everyone I cared about killed.

"You can't do anything about it now," Lorne said in my ear.

"Like hell I can!" As Lorne was restraining me, I watched as the Marines continued on their way with Michael. That bastard had the nerve to look over his shoulder at me and smile. Like he had just gotten away with something.

"He's a prisoner of war!" Lorne argued as I elbowed him in the gut. He grunted and his grip slackened. I managed to push my way out of his hands and sprint around the corner, towards the Marines and Michael once again.

Only this time someone else stood in my way.

"How did I know?" John said, arms crossed and staring at me with a stoic expression. Lorne came shuffling around the bend, holding his stomach with a grimace. "Sorry, sir. Tried to keep her away from him."

"It's alright, Lorne. I got it from here," John gave him a tight-lipped smile. "You should get that iced." Lorne agreed and moved off. I sort of felt a little bad about elbowing him, but Lorne knew he should've never tried to restrain me. I know how to play dirty. I turned my attention to John.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" I demanded.

"He saved us."

"Bullshit. He's the reason you guys were in that situation. He double crossed us!" I argued angrily.

"You weren't there, Mia." John said sternly. "If it wasn't for Michael, we wouldn't have escaped the Hive alive."

"One good deed doesn't excuse him for all the bad he's done!" I yelled at him.

"Of course it doesn't!" John retorted. "But we aren't like the Wraith. We can't kill him because he risked his own life to save ours. He swears that he knew nothing about what the others were planning. They didn't trust him."

"Oh, and so now we are?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You're playing into his trap again, John!" I didn't like this. Not one bit. Michael needed to die. He was too much of a risk to keep alive. I had to play this smart. "The last time we trusted Michael...I—I almost lost you, John."

"I know," he said sincerely.

"Then why protect him? He would never do this for us and you know it."

John sighed. "Lorne is right. Michael is a prisoner of war now. He has rights."

I scoffed and shook my head. "He isn't even human! He's a different species, it doesn't count."

"He used to be, Mia. And that's our fault. All of this is on us. If we hadn't of created Michael in the first place then none of this would be happening."

I stared him down, "Then. End. It."

"You're being irrational," John groaned at me. I pulled a face at him.

"I'm being irrational?" I pointed at my chest. "You're the one bringing in this homicidal maniac. Who knows what's going to happen now?" I could tell John was getting frustrated with this conversation. He knew that deep down I was right, but he just didn't want to admit it. That was his stubborn ass pride. I knew because I was exactly the same. It's why we clashed so much and had these stupid and petty arguments.

"Look, I'm done talking about this. Michael is going to be under lock and key with security watching him twenty-four seven. We've got bigger things to deal with like the hive ship above us full of about three hundred wraiths. Once we figure out what our next move is…and once Elizabeth is back in control of Atlantis, _then_ we'll be discussing what to do with Michael." John gave me a pointed look. "Agreed?"

I pouted childishly, "Crystal."

John gave me a weak smile; he bent his head and pressed a quick kiss to the side of my temple. I took a deep breath and tried to relax myself. Apparently, according to Carson, it wasn't good for me to get so worked up about things anymore. I had to keep my stress levels down. Yeah, ok Carson. Have you seen what I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis?

"I'll see you later," John said to me as I watched him walk off. He went in the direction that the Marines went. No doubt to check up on our newest resident. I sighed in frustration. I needed to let off some steam. Gym it was.

 **X**

I stretched my legs out before me in the gym. I bent to one side, reaching for my toes and feeling my back arch and stretch with me. I changed sides and did the same thing. Next it sat up straight and slowly lowered my stomach to the ground, keeping my back straight. I stayed in this position for a few moments before right myself.

And then I screamed in fright. My heart jumped as I glared up at Ronon crouched in front of me. He smirked childishly at me.

"Jesus, Ronon. Don't do that to me."

"It's not like I'm a quiet person," he mumbled, his smirk still in place. I flipped him the bird as he extended his hand down to help me up. "You wanna spar?"

I felt my face blanch. "Oh, uh…" There was no way on this planet that I would ever be able to spar safely with Ronon for the next year. To be honest all I had wanted to do was throw out combos against the punching bag. "How about a run? I've been falling behind."

Ronon gave me a suspicious look. He knew that I was never one to turn down a spar with him. And it had been so long since we had one. Thankfully the Satedan didn't question it and nodded. He followed me out of the gym as we both set off at a steady pace.

I was barely ten minutes into the run before I had to stop. "W-wait!" I gasped out. Coming to a stop and leaning against the wall. I caught my breath as Ronon paused and walked back. He had barely broken a sweat.

"What?" Ronon asked.

"I…" I gasped. "I gotta—slow down."

Ronon pulled a face. "Since when?"

"Since—" I stopped myself from unintentionally telling him that I was pregnant. I caught my breath and straightened up. "Since now. We can't always be in our top physical condition."

"I can," Ronon replied smartly.

I glared. "Jackass." I waved him off. "You go do your sprinting. I'll just walk at my own pace until I'm ready."

Ronon cocked an eyebrow at me. "You sure? I can always stay and walk with your slow ass."

"Go!" I said, laughing as Ronon flashed me a rare grin. I lashed out with my leg and kicked him lightly in the back of the shins. He chuckled in the deep baritone of his as I watched him run off. I waited a few more seconds before I started a brisk walk of my own.

* * *

"We have to tell Ronon," I said to John as I walked into his room later that night. John was currently lying down on his bed, a Stephen King book in his hand as he flicked the page over.

"Tell Ronon what?"

I rolled my eyes at his obliviousness. "You know, the whole baby thing. He asked me to spar with him today and I couldn't and he was asking why." John dropped the book onto his chest as I fell onto the bed by his side.

"You didn't spar with him, did you?" John asked as I gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Well that just proves you weren't listening. I _said_ that he asked me to spar but I said no. We went for a run and I had to tap out within ten minutes, he was pretty suspicious."

"We can tell him," John said simply. Well, that was easy. I suddenly thought of something else that John should really know.

"Um—well, there's something else that I haven't told you."

"It's not twins, is it?" John asked with a deadpan look. I laughed and rolled over onto my back.

"No, it's not twins. But you should know that Teyla actually knows, she's known for a couple of weeks. Sorry—" I was cut off as John reached down and flicked my nose lightly.

"Stop apologizing, it's not like you," John said. I frowned in confusion and tilted my head back to stare up at him. "I get it, I really do, Mia. And that's like girl code or something, isn't it?"

"Kind of?" I said, uncertainly. "I was stressing out so much and Carson was pressuring me about telling you and Elizabeth and we got into this huge fight and I regret it so much. Teyla overheard our fight and she sort of made her own assumptions."

John was silent for a few moments. "Well, Carson was right about one thing."

"And what's that?" I said in a condescending tone.

John gave me a pointed look. "We do have to tell Elizabeth."

"Oh," I muttered quietly. "Yeah I'm totally not looking forward to that conversation."

"Neither," John agreed.

"She'll going to kill us both," I added.

"Definitely," John said with a nod. We both chuckled for a few moments. I heard John set down the book and he shifted down the bed until he was eye level with me. He stared at my face for a few moments before he opened his arms. "Hug me, Mia." I obliged. I wriggled my body closer to his and wrapped my arms awkwardly around his sides. His own arms wrapped around my body as he pulled me close to him. I relaxed into him embrace, smelling his usual amazing scent as I shut my eyes in contempt. I heard John sigh as his chest heaved against my own. I could feel his lips pressing against the top of my head.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered, breaking the silence.

"To be honest," John sighed. "I don't know. Take it one day at a time for now. I think Elizabeth will be alright with it, after she cools down after the initial reveal."

"Here's hoping," I mumbled weakly. I felt John's fingers under my chin as he tilted my head up slightly so that I could meet his gaze.

"Let's just enjoy the moment, shall we? We can worry about our careers later, right now I want to enjoy the fact that we're having a baby." That had me cracking a smile—and a few tears. I wiped them away hurriedly as John chuckled. "These hormones are going to be the death of me, aren't they?"

"Oh yeah," I said, sniffling with a grin. John's fingers caressed the side of my cheek as he brushed my hair behind me ear. His fingers then trailed down my jaw and neck, across my collarbone and then down my side. His hand came to rest upon my stomach. I watched his hazel eyes flick down to my stomach and then back up to mine.

"It's crazy, isn't it?"

"Insane," I agreed with a smile. John nodded in agreement as his hand came back up to my neck. He curled it around the back of my neck as he pulled me to him. Our lips met, and I was lost in his kiss. Somehow it felt different. It felt stronger, like our emotions and feelings were more in sync than ever. My heart was racing as he deepened the kiss, biting down on my bottom lip and pushing his tongue into my mouth. My hands instinctively moved to his hair, running my fingers through his messy dark hair and gripping onto the strands when his hands started to wonder.

John suddenly pulled away, leaving me breathless and confused. "I forgot to say hello to him," he said and then was suddenly crawling down the bed.

"Him?" I asked, perplexed. I giggled when John lay on his side, his head level with my stomach as he folded up my t-shirt. My face flushed red; I couldn't actually believe this was happening.

"It's going to be a boy, I know it," John stated, winking up at me. I couldn't help the tears that ran down my cheeks. Goddamn hormones. I wiped them quickly as John ran his hand over my stomach. I couldn't help but stare at him as he looked at my stomach with the most amazing expression. He was so focused on it, a smile playing on his lips. He was looking at my belly with the same expression that I saw on his face when he looked at me, only so much more intense. He was absolutely infatuated already.

"I guess…" John said, his lips centimeters from my flesh. "I guess this means that I'm your dad. Hi, I can't wait to meet you."

And then he pressed his lips to my belly—and blew a fucking raspberry.

I squealed like a dying pig and then started laughing from the tickling sensation. John was laughing like it was the last thing he was doing on this planet. He moved back up and pressed a kiss to my lips.

"I expect to hear your laughter a lot from now on. Nothing is going to ever ruin this moment for us. I swear to you, whatever happens—I'll always be here. I'm never going to be separated from you ever again. You have my heart, Mia Sumner, and you always will."

I couldn't form words. All I could do was shed happy tears and take John's face in my hands and kiss him as passionately as I could. I rolled us over, so that I was straddling him as his hands went to my waist.

"No reply then?" John said smartly. I rolled my eyes at him as I smiled and kissed him once.

"Ditto, John Sheppard."

* * *

John lay sleeping soundly beside me. He was flat on his back, a snore escaping his mouth as I smirked down at him. His bare chest was extremely inviting but I had something to do. I bent down and picked up my discarded underwear and uniform and dressed quietly. I then went on my knees and fetched the six-pack of beer from under his bed. I knew it was there as I had helped him stash it there. I had smuggled him this from my last trip to earth but he hadn't opened them up yet. And right now, they were my bribery.

I attached my side arm to my leg and held the cans of beer under my arm and folded my jacket over them so it didn't look _too_ suspicious. I took one last look down at John, apologized in my head and left the room.

The walk was long to the surveillance room. It helped me clear my head before I went through with what I was going to do. I hoped John would understand. I knew I was going to get in a lot of shit for what I was going to do but it was for the greater good. The halls were deserted as I approached the surveillance room. As I stood outside the room I had doubts, but I forcefully repressed them and pushed open the door into the room.

"Major?" One of the guards called questioningly. I greeted them with a smile.

"Evening, was just wondering how our prisoner is doing?" I asked pleasantly. I needed to gain their trust for what I was going to ask of them.

The one who had spoken to me, Gallagher, I think has name was replied, "He's just been sitting around for the most part. He hasn't really spoken." I nodded my head, pretending to be interested. I approached the desk and dropped the six-pack on the table.

"I'm going to need you boys to step out for ten minutes, and turn the cameras off too."

They both gave me incredulous looks, "But, Major—"

"I know the risks," I told them both with a stern glare. "But this is personal. I just need to have a chat with Michael and I can't have anyone watching or listening."

They both shared a look and then turned back to me. I was waiting for them to refuse me, and that they were about to radio John and tell him to get his ass here and deal with me. Instead they nodded and switched off the cameras.

"Ten minutes, major," Gallagher told me. I took two cans from the pack and held them.

"Fine with me," I said with a smirk. The two Marines grabbed a can each and stepped out of the room, they walked a little ways down the hall and cracked them open together. I took two cans in my hand and headed out of the room and down the opposite way towards Michael's room. Two security guards were stationed with stunners. I approached them casually and held out the beers.

"Your buddies are enjoying some of these just around the corner, want to go join them for ten minutes?" I asked them sweetly, dialing up the charm. The two guards knew what was up straight away but I met no resistance with them. They both took a can each and headed off.

Damn, that was easier then I thought. Maybe I didn't even need the beers? Oh well, too late now to take them back. I hardened my gaze as I thought about what I was about to do; I was basically walking into the lion's den vulnerable. Who knows what's going to happen when I confront him. I tapped my side arm, making sure it was there as I pulled open Michael's door and entered his room.

He was lounging on his bed when I entered. He looked over his shoulder lazily and smirked when he saw me standing a few feet into his room. "I can't say I'm surprised to see you here," he said, rising up from the bed.

I stood my ground and glared at him. "Never got the chance to speak before."

Michael chuckled, the sound eerie. "Ah, yes. Before you were pulled away like an animal. Tell me, are you more hotheaded now that those hormones are messing with your head?"

I knew what he was doing; he was trying to psych me out. It wasn't going to work. "To be honest, my temper wasn't much to start with. It's even less now."

"Charming," Michael drawled. "So, I take you aren't here to simply chat with me, Mia, are you?"

I narrowed my gaze, "I promised you that if you double crossed us, I'd put a bullet in between your eyes."

Michael chuckled and cocked his head to the side. "You are mistaken. I had no part in the Queen's plan. They didn't trust me enough to tell me."

I scoffed, "And you really expect me to believe that?"

Michael glowered. "They didn't trust me, because of what _your_ people did to me!"

"My heart bleeds for you," I said, mockingly. "In my eyes, you're all the same. There are no good or bad Wraith. You're all life sucking bastards."

"I saved your people!" Michael exclaimed. I could tell that this was pissing him off, being treated like this. "And yet you lock me up here again! If it weren't for me, Doctor McKay, Ronon and your beloved Colonel Sheppard would have all been fed upon by the Wraith. I saved them, you own me a debt!"

I smirked smugly. "I don't owe you jack shit. You're nothing anymore, Michael. You don't belong anywhere. The Wraith don't want you, and neither do we."

Michael hissed at me, Wraith equivalent to having a tantrum. He narrowed his eyes at me threateningly. "If that's the case, then end me now."

I barked out a laugh. "As if I would make it that easy for you? You made my life a living hell for so long now, I want to return the favour."

Michael suddenly took three steps towards me; his feeding hand was suddenly raised. I reacted quickly; my hand went to my sidearm and brought it up so that it was in line with his head. Michael halted in his tracks, his narrow, yellow eyes looking from me to the gun.

"You wouldn't," Michael purred, a smug smirk on his face.

I returned his smirk with one of my own, my finger hovered over the trigger and he saw this. "Oh, I would. As you said, if my fuse was short to begin with, it's practically non-existent now."

"I still scare you," Michael stated.

I hardened my stare, and in a stupid and bold move I approached him. My gun never left his head and my eyes focused on his face and body language. If he dared to attack, he would hit the floor before he even realized what had happened. I was about a meter away from him now.

"As I said, you don't mean jack shit."

And then I heard the door slam open.

"Mia!" I didn't even have to turn around to know who had called me. I had expected the security detail to rat me out. I just thought I might have gotten a little bit longer with Michael before John had come barging in before I could pull the trigger. Michael's gaze flicked to John over my shoulder, but I wasn't so stupid as to turn around. I wasn't some girl in a cliché horror movie. No, I kept my gaze trailed on Michael.

"Put the gun down, Mia," John said calmly to me.

"He doesn't deserve to live," I replied back. "He's done nothing but cause us all misery. If I finish it now, it'll be done."

"This is not the way we do things!" John argued back.

"Maybe it should be," I retorted.

"Mia," John called my name so softly. "If you do this, you're no better then him." I ground my teeth in irritation. I hated it when John spoke sense to me. I liked to be the crazy and irrational one. Michael seemed to think that because John was here, I wasn't going to shoot him. He got this cocky look on his face and cocked his head to the side.

"Listen to him, Mia," He purred my name, which made my skin crawl in disgust. "Think about that unborn fetus of yours, what an example you're setting."

That fucking does it. Michael had fucked with me for too long. He wasn't going to fuck around with this baby. If he thought I wasn't going to shoot him, he was dead wrong.

I smiled coyly, "You're right, you shouldn't die." I said. Michael relaxed slightly. I glared. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't suffer."

I lowered the gun and fired.

The shot run out loudly as Michael let out an ear-piercing howl. I gave him the most hate filled glare I could muster. "Heal that, bitch."

* * *

 **Firstly-OH DAMN my girl Mia is back and a badass bitch again!**

 **Secondly i would like to apologise for how long it took me to get this out. I thought I was ready to come back to writing, and I think I am but I still don't have that motivation that I used to have. Hopefully it'll come back in time, during my little breaks I work on some other stories that I haven't published and probably never will (lol) and I hope that it'll help.**

 **I would like to address another reason why it took me so long to upload and this is the main factor. Now, honestly I dont know what to make of this situatioin so hear it goes. A while back I was just browsing through the stories in the category and I actually came across a John/Oc story that I thought I'd just check out. (I was looking for inspiration) I opened up the first couple of chapters and was completely shocked with what I saw. Now, I'm in no way saying that this person plagiarised but the similarities to my story and their's is uncanny. I don't want to go into detail about this story but let's just say that most of the characters backstory is exactly the same as my own. Now, this could just be a complete coincidence as I would like it to be, and hope that it is. But it's the reason why I stopped writing. I know it's silly, but to me, it felt like that I had worked so fucking hard to create my own character and story and someone has come along and taken what I have created. I forced myself to read on until the last chapter they posted and found that some plot differed from my own and there is a difference, but for me, there is a lot of similarities which just had me feeling down.**

 **Now I am not one for confrontation, I have not taken this any further and I don't plan to. And I want everyone to know that if you do come across this story, please don't harass them. I'm not saying that you guys will cause you're all so lovely but I just have to put it out there. It could all be a crazy coincidence. But yeah, that's why it took me forever to upload, I was just pretty upset and down about everything that happened.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it took me so goddamn long to write and I hope you all enjoyed John's reaction and their sickly cute moments xD**

and fuck guys, 13 reviews for the first chapter!? I love you all so much you have no idea! This is gonna take me a while to reply to them all hahaha-oh god.

REPLIES

Julka212 - The feels in the first one? HAVE SOME MORE FEELS! Thank you so much for always being there ahahah I love reading your reviiews they always have me cracking up! No Rodney in this one but he should be back next chapter! Always a good day when I can write me some Rodney and Mia xD

haike m - Thank you! Season 3 has some of the best content in it, and season 4, i'm excited to write them up. Thank you thank you thank you love you!

Astrida - I'm glad you're excited! Hope I didn't disappoint!

ako - Thank you so much! I love knowing I have such a great support from all of you!

Adela - Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Guest 64 - Sorry i took me forever to get this out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Kat - Sappy stuff alert! I'm so sorry I made you wait for this one, I honestly didn't mean to take this long! I hope you enjoyed and I totally agree with you that they needed some good shit happen to them for a bit.

parmakai66 - I missed this too! Glad you're still here :)

Naberra - Sorry it took me so long! I hope you enjoyed!

GoldenGod48 - Love me my cliffhangers. Not sure if this is one too, it could be...but yeah actually it is isn't it? hahah sorry but i love them so much!

thenomadicgypsy - Im sorry for taking so long again! Hope you enjoyed!

AegisEterna - Thank you so much! Kudo's to you for smashing out this story, i know it's not exactly short hahah Hope you liked John's reaction and their cute scenes together!

Mogor - Thank you, sorry it took me a while!


	3. Chapter 3 - Intervention

**GUUUYYYYSSS! Honestly, completing this chapter made me shed a lil tear. I felt so good to literally type and just slot back into this again. I forgot how good it felt to do this. Thank you to everyone who replied to me and gave me all those encouraging words. I was just so overwhelmed by all of you that it had me ugly crying for a long time. I feel like writing this chapter, I can tell that's its different because I'm different. The previous 2, looking on back when I wrote them I feel like my heart really wasn't in it enough of that, i'll let you all read the next chapter! Let me know what you think. I love you all!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 3: Intervention_

* * *

I was marched right into the brig, something that I expected. The two Marines escorted me in as I stopped in the middle of the cell and listened to the door slide shut behind me. The barrier went up as I turned my head slowly, I could see the figure of John standing to the right.

"Do you want me to apologize? Because I won't," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms. John approached the barrier; he shook his head at me.

"I just want to know what the _hell_ you were thinking?"

"I was trying to protect us!" I retorted.

"No, you were only thinking about revenge!" John bellowed at me. His hands pressed against the slabs as he glared at me. "What the hell were you thinking, Mia? You went in there to see Michael by yourself! Do you understand what could have happened to you? To our kid?"

My voice got trapped in my throat. His look was one of disappointment. I couldn't form words; the only thing I was able to do was shake my head at him. John sighed heavily.

"Why would you want to go and see him?"

"Because he needed to know that he can't fuck around with us anymore!"

John ran a hand through his already unruly hair. "And what? You really wanted to kill him in cold blood?"

"Why are you taking his side?" I exclaimed. I felt my face pull into confusion. John groaned.

"I'm not taking his side, Mia. But Michael has rights now."

"What rights?" I muttered sarcastically.

John gave me a pointed look, one that I knew well. "The Geneva Convention, Mia."

"The Gene—" I stopped midway and scoffed. "We aren't even on Earth!"

"It still applies to us!" John bellowed. "Even if we aren't on Earth, we are still human and we will uphold the laws of our country and planet."

"This is bullshit! He's the reason I almost lost you and everyone else I care about!" My chest was heaving. I could feel the angry tears prick at my eyes. Goddamn these stupid hormones.

"You weren't there, Mia. He helped us defy and escape the Wraith."

I smacked the slabs. "Yes! The Wraith that he is currently one of!" Why wasn't he getting this? Michael is dangerous. He can't be allowed to live.

John sighed in exasperation. "I can't deal with you right now. What you were going to do was inexcusable. You are to remain here for the night and in the morning we can reassess."

"What?" I exclaimed. "You can't leave me in here, I'm not some bloody prisoner!"

John gave me an apologetic look as he made his way to the exit. "I'm sorry, Mia. But for the time being I can't trust you to not go back and try to kill Michael. Hopefully a night in here will cool you off."

I frowned at him. "You know what? Screw you, John. You know I'm right."

John exhaled sharply through his nose. He gave me a deadly look but turned away and retrieved the guard from outside. "Send for some blankets and pillows. Major Sumner will be spending the night in the brig."

I bristled at the slabs, sending John all the anger I could muster as he left. He actually left me here in the brig. I groaned in frustration as I shuffled over to the bench and sat myself down.

Fuck. I've really screwed up this time.

* * *

When morning rolled around, well from the time my watch told me, I was not surprised when the door to the brig room opened. I was surprised, however, when Rodney McKay himself strolled in looking like he had smoked something illegal. No really. His shoulders were twitching. Even his eye was twitching.

I was _even_ more surprised when Rodney suddenly put the code into the panel and opened up the cell. "Um, Rodney?"

"Shh!" He hissed at me like some rabid snake. I jumped back as he stumbled into the brig and pulled me to my feet. I had been bundled up in the blanket that the guards had gotten for me last night.

"What the hell are you doing?" I lowered my voice. Rodney was looking over his shoulder once again.

"Busting you out of jail," he sent me a crazy grin.

"Wait, what?" Did I hear him right? What the hell was he doing?

"I may have snuck into Colonel Sheppard's room this morning—and I may have sent an email to the security personnel stating that you were to be released this morning—and I may have just told that to the guard outside."

I stared at him incredulously. "Rodney… _whatthefuck!_ "

"Genius, right?" He waggled his eyebrows at me.

I shook my head vigorously. "No!" I squealed. Rodney chuckled.

"Look, I'm about to head up to the Wraith Hive ship and as much as it kills me to say this—I need your help."

"Wow," I said smugly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Rodney McKay needs my help."

He gave me a hard look. "Don't start or I'll lock you in here again."

"I'm listening," I said sweetly.

"You were the one who led the team on the dart that we had last year. According to Zelenka, you're the best person to help me repair this ship."

I rolled my eyes. "Well at least I know I'm wanted somewhere."

Rodney mirrored my eye rolling as he beckoned for me to leave with him. I followed him out as we poked our heads around the corner and thankfully no guard was in sight.

 **X**

"You know Colonel Sheppard's going to kill you, right?" I told Rodney as we made our way towards the jumper bay.

"He can sue me. If he want's this hive ship operational again I'm going to need you. He can lock you back up once we're done."

I glanced over at Rodney. He was still acting skittish. Jumping at the slightest noises and looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds. "So do you…" I cleared my throat, nervous about my next sentence. "Do you know why I was in there?"

"What? That you tried to execute Michael last night, nearly the whole base knows. You weren't exactly being quiet as they marched you to the brig."

I grimaced. "Good point. Sorry about this, I know the Colonel is going to be furious with you."

Rodney shrugged. "So what? We should have stopped Michael a long time ago. You're the only one that has the balls to do it. Besides Ronon that is, and we all know he's going to be on your side about this."

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "Yeah…sides. Just what I wanted." I smirked over at Rodney. "You know, you were the person I least expected to come and spring me from jail."

We arrived at the jumper bay as Rodney waved his hand over the door sensor. "Hey, that's what I'm good for…" I stared at him for a moment as he suddenly realized what he had just insinuated on himself. "Wait a second…"

I chuckled and nudged him playfully in the shoulder as we moved into the nearest jumper together.

Once we were both situated in the seats, I was of course piloting, it was probably another reason why Rodney wanted me to come; he still had trouble flying these things. Rodney radioed the control tower and told them that we were heading out. Well he didn't use my name, as that would have sent up alarm bells. We were hoping that it would be a couple of hours before John realized what had happened, and it was still really early, he wouldn't even be up yet. It still was a bit concerning that Rodney broke into John's room, I mean, what if I had been in there?

It had me thinking about telling Rodney about John and I. He was the almost the only one on our team who didn't know about our relationship. The only reason we never told him was because the lard couldn't keep a secret to save his life, but what he did for me this morning…it just proved that he was a good friend.

"Rodney?" I called. I glanced over my shoulder to him. He was sitting in the row behind me, using the laptop to go over the hive ship schematics. "Do you care about me?" I asked him.

His back straightened as he swiveled around in his chair to stare open mouthed at me. "What?" I saw the confusion in his eyes.

"Not like that," I reassured him. I breathed sharply through my nose. "Like, if a building was on fire and I was inside. Would you save me?"

"What kind of question is that?" Rodney asked, incredulously.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just answer the question."

He spluttered and rubbed his temple. "Well, you know, if the probability that I would survive entering this said burning building and getting us both out without getting singed then I guess I might."

"You might?" I said with narrowed eyes. Rodney rolled his at me.

"I just broke you out of jail, what more do you want from me? Do you plan on running head first into a burning building, hmm?"

"Well—no!" I chuckled. "Ok, say you had to choose between saving me and saving Kavanagh…who would you pick?"

Rodney gave me a look of disbelief. "You hands down. I can tolerate you most of the time. Kavanagh I'll gladly throw into the building."

"You can tolerate me?" I placed a hand on my chest dramatically to emphasize my point.

Rodney crossed his arms. "Ok, so what was this all about then?"

I giggled and turned back around to face the HUD and look at our estimated arrival time to the hive orbiting the planet. We only had a couple more minutes. "I want to tell you something, Rodney. But as we've just established we're friends and friends keep secrets. So if I find out that you've told anyone what I'm about to tell you then I _will_ hurt you." I sent him one of my famous glares that sent his eyebrows shooting up to his receding hairline.

Facing the front once more I took a hold of the controls and breathed deeply. Was telling Rodney really a good choice? Probably not but he and I were close. In an annoying brother sister hate your guts but would do anything for you way.

"I'm having a baby, Rodney. And John's the father."

It was so quiet that I could hear a new universe forming. I didn't want to turn around and look at Rodney's judgment of me. Would he be disappointed in me? Would he think differently of me?

I heard a chortle. "I always new there was something going on with you and Sheppard." I turned around, finally seeing him. And he was smirking. "It's a total cliché if you ask me. Hot guy, hot chick—it was bound to happen."

I snorted at him as he came to sit in the chair next to mine.

"So, I'm the first to know I take it," Rodney said with a great grin. Well I was about to burst that bubble.

"Actually…no, sorry."

Rodney threw his hand up into the air and groaned. "Great, so I was the last then?" I shook my head at him.

"Ronon doesn't know yet."

"Aha!" Rodney exclaimed in glee. "That means you like me better than that great hulking cave man!"

"Rodney," I scolded him with a frown. "This isn't a competition to see who I like better. I wasn't going to tell you at all but your little prison break helped in your favor."

He leaned back in the chair and folded his arms and legs smugly. "Still, I found out before him."

"Whatever…we're arriving at the hive ship now. And I swear to god, Rodney if you tell anyone I will kill you, understood?"

He waved his hand in front of his face dismissively. "Yes, I heard you the first time Beatrix Kiddo." I rolled my eyes at him, which was probably the umpteenth time I had done it since being in his presence.

* * *

I landed the jumper in the hive ships hanger bay as we both exited and headed towards the bridge, or whatever the hell the Wraith call it. I kept looking around nervously, expecting a Wraith to jump out at me any second.

"Relax would you?" Rodney snapped at me.

"I'm sorry," I said bitterly. "I guess I'm just not used to walking around freely on a hive ship."

"All the Wraith are either in a stasis chamber or are dead. There's nothing to worry about—and hang on, when did I start becoming the voice of reason?"

Rodney and I stared at each other for a few extra moments. It was…kind of true. Normally I'd be sauntering down these halls, yelling at the Wraith to attack me.

"Looks like motherhood is making you a big softie," Rodney said as he nudged my shoulder and spoke to me in a stupid tone. I glared and punched him as hard as I could in the arm. "Ouch! Jesus!"

"Don't you dare mock me, Rodney," I threatened him with a frown. "I can still kick your ass anytime I want."

"That I don't doubt," he muttered and continued leading us to where we needed to go.

 **X**

It felt good to be doing something like this again. Well, repairing a hive ship wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it was great to be getting my hands dirty and focusing on something else for a change. The past couple of days had been filled with so much stress and tension. I had been so focused on the city, the baby, John being 'dead' as well as the others that I had forgotten what it was like to actually repair something again. I had fallen in love with Mechanical Engineering and then that love for it had deepened when I had the chance to study the Puddle Jumpers and then the Ancient systems. Now I get a hive ship to tinker with, it was like Christmas coming early.

I heard someone kneel down next to me as I was working under the navigation systems, which powered the hyper drive and long-range scanners. I looked away from my pad and saw Zelenka peering at me.

"Made any progress?"

I shook my head at him. "Minimal. These systems are almost completely fried. And the parts that aren't damaged aren't very useful in trying to get it all up and running again." I shimmied out from underneath the console. From across the side of the room I heard Rodney made a small noise of surprise.

"Figured out how to fly this thing yet?"

I felt my insides turn cold. That voice…shit.

"Oh yeah," Rodney said sarcastically. I peeked my head over the top of the console to see John standing within spitting distance of me. Rodney's eyes flicked over to me for a second and I saw the small movement of his head while John had been staring around the room. He was telling me to get out, quickly. "You didn't think it'd be hard, did you?" Rodney continued.

"Just proves my confidence in you wasn't misplaced," John added.

While the two were talking I slowly started crouching my way to the end of the console. While John's attention was taken up by Rodney, I made a dash for the corridor.

"Sumner!"

I grimaced and froze on the spot. It hadn't been John that had spoken. No, it had been one of the scientists. The scientist in question was walking up to me with some notes in hand. I didn't even look at them, I instead turned slowly and to my (not) surprise John was glaring at me. Rodney was slapping his forehead behind him.

My eyes flicked from John to Rodney and back again. Well, shit.

"Rodney busted me out."

The man in questions jaw dropped. "Oh come on!"

John spun around to Rodney and pointed his finger at him. "I'll deal with you later." Rodney skedaddled away from him and to another console as John marched towards me. Before he even got to me he was motioning for me to walk down the corridor as I groaned and spun on my heel.

Apparently I wasn't walking fast enough so John's hand wrapped around my upper arm as he started tugging me along. It didn't hurt at all but I could tell by the way his jaw was tensed that he was pissed off. Really pissed off.

"I know you're mad, but really it was all Rodney's idea. He said he needed my help with the hive ship and I couldn't say no!" he completely ignored me as we walked down a few more corridors until we came to an empty room. He walked us in and then shut the door behind us. He finally let go of my arm as I walked a few steps away from him.

"Why do you insist on defying me?" John growled at me.

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "I'm not defying you! I'm trying to help us all by repairing this ship."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," he glared.

"So you're mad at me for Rodney releasing me from the brig? I told you, he did that himself!"

"You shouldn't have gone along with it!" John yelled back.

I furrowed my brows at him. "And what? Stayed in there? You wanted to prove a point to me? Well I got the fucking point, John."

"You should have come to me then and apologized for last night."

I scoffed and gave him a look of disbelief. "Apologise? I'm not going to apologise for what I did yesterday. I will apologise for putting myself and our baby at risk but I want Michael dead, John. And you shoving me in the brig isn't going to change that." I continued to stare him down.

John held my gaze. I could see on his face that he wanted this fight to be over. I could see that what he wanted was for me to just apologise for everything but I meant what I said. I want Michael dead, and I'm not going to apologise for that.

"You are one infuriating woman, you know that?" He grumbled.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's one of my finer qualities." There was still a massive amount of tension in the room. There was about three feet between us, but it left like a canyon was there. I didn't want this. This arguing and stress was on me, because I was impulsive and stupid. It was only yesterday that John found out about the baby, and now he was dealing with all of this from me.

I knew that it would have to be me to stop this arguing. I unfurled my arms as I approached John. His gaze never left mine as I stopped inches away from him, our chests almost touching.

"When I got told that you were gone, I didn't know what to do. I had all this rage and sadness within me and I could only blame Michael and the Wraith. I was blinded by it, even when you came back. He's done nothing but torment me ever since we brought him to Atlantis the first time." John's gaze finally softened, his arms dropping to his side.

"I was so scared," my voice cracked. "Scared that I would have to raise this baby on my own, just like my dad did. Michael threatening me and our baby yesterday wasn't the first time he's done it. The day you left with the Wraith, when I went to see him, he told me he could sense it. It's why I was so shaken. Seeing him again, I just felt all the rage of potentially loosing you again and I lashed out."

John reached out and pulled me to him. His arms cradled me as I leant my head against his chest, under his chin. "Michael is the only person that truly scares me."

I felt John heave a sigh. "I'm not going to let him touch you or the baby. I'm going to be here for you, Mia. I'm not leaving you on your own."

"I want him gone. I don't want to feel scared all the time!" I exclaimed desperately. I then snorted. "God, I've turned into such a sap."

I felt John's chest vibrate with a chuckle. "For a good reason. Being scared isn't a bad thing, Mia. It shows that you're just human. Michael won't be around the city for much longer, I promise you this." I was silent as I hugged him tighter. "But you know, you aren't getting off scott free for what you did."

"I guessed as much," I sighed in disappointment. "So what am I looking at?"

"Desk duty, for a month. And removed from active duty, even though you're being removed for different reasons," he placed his hand against my stomach. "At least people won't question it."

I groaned…great, I love working the control room. "Well, at least me and Chuck can toss up baby names while we paint each others nails." John gave me an amused snort.

There was a knock on the door. "Hey!" It was Rodney, his voice muffled from being on the other side. "If you two are done fornicating in there—"

"What the hell is he talking about?" John hissed at me as I grimaced.

"I really do need Mia's help with the repairs! And I'm saying this through gritted teeth as we all know that I could do this on my own but—"

"I'll be out in a second, Rodney!" I yelled back at him, rolling my eyes at his arrogance. I stepped out of John's embrace as he stared down at me with an eyebrow quirked and a question on his tongue. "Uh, so I may have told Rodney."

"Well at least we won't have to announce it to the whole base 'cause he'll do that for us," John said sarcastically.

I smacked his shoulder innocently. "He promised he wouldn't say anything."

John's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "And you believed him?"

I chuckled. "If he does, you have the right to beat him up."

"Excellent," John said with a grin. I shook my head at him as I walked over to the door and opened it. Rodney stood there with a smirk and his arms crossed.

"That was quick," he commented. I reached out and flicked his ear. "Ouch!"

"Shut up. Otherwise you're going to get worse from me, understand?"

Rodney rubbed his ear and glared at me. "Alright, preggers."

"Rodney!" I hissed at him, my face turning bright red. The Doctor dashed down the corridor. I could already hear his out of breath pants. "I swear to god I am going to kill you." I heard John laughing as I chased Rodney down.

* * *

Rodney, myself, John, Teyla and Zelenka stood in the control room together facing the plasma. Elizabeth's face suddenly came to life on the screen. She beamed at all of us standing here, and I noticed the teary look she got in her eyes as she finally saw John and Rodney for the first time since being back and not presumed dead.

"It's good to see you all well," she said with a smile. In her background she seemed to be in the SGC's control room.

"Good to be alive," John commented. Rodney seconded that motion with a nod of his head to her.  
"How come the hive ship repairs?" She directed her question to Rodney, Zelenka and myself.

"Dismal," Rodney said.

"Fine," Zelenka added. The pair looked at each other for a moment. Elizabeth smirked. I could tell on her face that she secretly missed the banter. "Mia—why don't you tell Doctor Weir what you've found out from studying the hive ship?" Zelenka added, changing the topic slightly. All heads turned to me as I cleared my throat and gripped my data pad that extra bit tighter.

"Well…" I started. I was a bit stunned; I would've thought that Rodney would be the one to tell Elizabeth all of this stuff. Normally his ego wouldn't pass up the chance for the glory. Not that what I had figured out about the Wraith was really glorifying, it was still interesting to say the least. "We already knew a handful about their ships and technology from the dart that we had last year. But having the hive ship has opened up a whole lot of doors for us.

We always knew that the Wraith used a sort of neural interface just like the Ancient systems do, but it stems far deeper then that. See, with Ancient systems people who have the ATA gene can use it, but there's also a manual component that allows people without the gene to work them."

"And the Wraith have the same?" Elizabeth questioned.

I shook my head at her. "No, actually it's the complete opposite. We've been trying to repair the systems on the outside but within their technology we can't even come close."

Elizabeth looked at me, a pensive look on her face for a few moments. "So we can't fully repair the ship?"

Rodney interjected at this point. "I'm working on a manual override to try and allow us to control the ship from our technology. It's taking some time but I'm confident we'll get there."

"That's not all," I said. Drawing the attention of everyone again. "Last year when I studied the dart, I found minute traces of Wraith DNA within the structure of the dart itself."

Elizabeth and the others nodded. "Yes, I remember your report about that."

"It led me to believe that the darts were somehow grown biologically. I found that exact same DNA sequence within the hive ship too. In order for a hive ship or any of their ships to work, the DNA between both have to be compatible. In short, pretty much we need a Wraith to pilot it, and help us with the repairs—otherwise she'll be floating out there forever."

Rodney waved his hand for further dramatic effect. "And the only person who we can totally trust and has Wraith DNA is—Teyla."

Elizabeth's gaze shifted over to the Athosian woman. Teyla herself was looking slightly uncomfortable about her DNA being brought up again, especially after the last time she had anything to do with them had resulted in a lot of us getting hurt. "How do you feel about this?" Elizabeth asked her.

Teyla inhaled. "If it will help our cause. Then I will offer my help."

"Thank you, Teyla," Elizabeth said sincerely. Her gaze scanned all over us for a moment. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh!" Rodney said, raising his hand. "We also need to find somewhere to dump the two hundred or something Wraith. The stasis chambers that we're using to keep them asleep are drawing too much power, power that we need to repair the hive ship."

Elizabeth's eyebrows rose. "Ok then, do we have a planet in mind?"

"Already scouted," John spoke. "We found a planet not too far for a small hyperspace jump. Completely uninhabited, the Stargate is in orbit above the planet so no worry about anyone wondering in mistakenly."

"Good," Elizabeth nodded. "Well done to all of you," she smiled fondly at us. "Hopefully this is the last meeting I have to sit through and then I'll be returning to Atlantis within the next couple of days."

"We'll leave the porch light on," John said with a sincere smile. Elizabeth chuckled at him.

"Well, you all look like you could do with some rest. I can't say how proud I am of all of you for what you've achieved these last few days." None of us said anything. There really wasn't much to say; we all knew how stressful it had been for everyone.

Elizabeth said her goodbyes to all of us as she disconnected and the screen went black. There was a moment where we all remained silent. We wished that Elizabeth could really be here. We missed her, and I could tell that she missed all of us too. Soon though, she would be home.

Rodney and Zelenka were the first to depart. Both agreeing to go and grab late dinner, before heading to their labs to continue their manual override. Teyla left next, sending both John and I a smile before she walked off. John turned to me.

"South Pier?" I grinned and nodded.

 **X**

As soon as we got far enough away from the living quarters John's hand found mine. We took our stroll slowly, savoring in each other's company. I knew we were still not completely on the same page about Michael, but I was glad that we had talked it out again on the hive ship. John understood some more of my reasoning, which to him still didn't help my cause. But I felt like we'd be able to move pass this.

I relished in the feeling of our fingers intertwined with one another's. Holding onto his hand made me feel safe, and I never wanted to let go. We came to the door of the South pier as it opened for us. We both stepped out into the lovely balmy night as I froze unexpectedly.

"What is this?" I asked in disbelief. I looked up at John, and then down and across at Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, Lorne and Carson standing all together. "Am I having an intervention?" I mumbled. The group laughed at my unintentional humor, but I seriously wanted to know.

John tugged me forward so that the door could shut behind us and that we were closer to everyone. I studied all their faces, and saw nothing but happiness on all of them. I was weary of them all here. Was I about to get reprimanded about Michael again?

"Teyla told me about what you told her," John spoke to me. His voice made me turn to look at him once more. He still had a tight grip on my hand. I was holding on like if he left me I might sink. "About how you were worried that if something happened to either one of us, that our baby would be all alone."

I met all their gazes, my mouth parting slightly as I comprehended as to why they were all standing here. Teyla, I could see had tears in her eyes, stepped forward. "We wanted to show you that…if anything did happen—your baby would not be alone. Because your child has all of us to look out for and love them."

I was speechless. I couldn't form words as I stared at each and every one of them. I mean, even Rodney was here—and apparently of his own free will. No one was forcing him to stay right now.

"I…I don't know what to say?" I choked out. John squeezed my hand.

"You don't have to say anything, love," Carson said as he smiled.

"I knew there was a better reason for you not wanting to spar with me," Ronon added from behind Teyla. It finally hit me that Ronon was actually here. John must have told him, and Lorne too.

Lorne was next to Rodney. He sent me a nod and a grin. "We're going to be here for you both. Your little asskicker is gonna have one hell of a mom and dad." I laughed at that.

"Hey," Rodney interjected. "I have dibs on the uncle title."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Sure. Uncle Ego does have a nice ring to it." There were a few snorts as Rodney scoffed and folded his arms. I smirked. "The title is yours, Rodney. Seeing as you sprung me from prison."

John suddenly pointed his finger at the scientist. "Which I still haven't reprimanded you for by the way."

Rodney balked. "Oh, nice one," he grumbled at me.

"That'll be a story to tell the little one, one day," Carson chuckled.

I stared around at my group of friends—no…my family. "Thank you…all of you. I know I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for all of you. Now all we have to do is tell Elizabeth."

Rodney pursed his lips. "Good luck with that."

* * *

 **EEeeeeepp!**

 **I'm honestly just so happy to be here right now. I don't really have anything else to say other then thank you for sticking with me. I didn't expect any of you to still be around but it makes my heart happy to see your names all pop up again!**

 **I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter. I have been planning out the season 3 timeline and plot details so hopefully that'll get me into a grove again. And holy shit, so much happens in season 3 you'll all gonna be so happy with what I have planned. And no, you're not finding out what gender the baby will be until they are born. ;)**

 **Again I can't stress enough about how much all your little comments meant to me. Also if you wanna chat with me or connect my Twitter is misacharchar or charcharbinks. I'm still fairly new to it so hit me up in my dms ;)**


	4. Chapter 4 - One Way Ticket

**Woo hi everyone! I'm so happy you all loved the last chapter! Now in this one we do have another reveal and we're getting into the parts which were really hard for me to get around which is like all the military aspects. So i've tried to keep it pretty realistic but also giving myself some artistic freedom. I hope you'll all be satisfied but I am seriously glad that we're finally done with the Misbegotten episode as it was really hard for me to write. But yeah, enjoy guys!**

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 4: One Way Ticket_

* * *

"Major Sumner."

A man by the name of Richard Woolsey greeted me as I stepped into the second conference room. This room was located just out of the control room, it was smaller then the usual one we used for mission briefs and whatnot. I gazed at Woolsey for a moment, studying him. He was a bald man, with glasses and wore the red Atlantis tracksuit. In front of him were a laptop, papers and a briefcase.

I rubbed my hands discreetly on my trousers; they had begun to sweat because of my anxiety about having this meeting. Everyone on base was subjected to one but I was still nervous because of out everyone—I had something to hide. I had put on my jacket for an extra precaution. Even though I was only nine weeks, I had started to show. It was only a little bulge but with my naturally thin frame it would look pretty suspicious if I had my shirt tucked in tight.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Woolsey," I extended my hand for him as he grasped it and we shook hands.

He gave me a curt nod and a smirk. "I'm sure it is." Did I detect a hint of sarcasm there? I sat down in the chair, thankful because my stomach was now out of view. Woolsey searched around in his papers for a few seconds before finding the piece that he wanted and sliding it out, placing it on top of the others.

"Now," he started. "I suspect Doctor Weir already explained to you what I'm doing here."

"She gave me a brief overview," I shrugged.

He nodded in agreement. "Then you can already guess what I'm going to ask you about." I remained silent. Woolsey and I stared at each other for a few moments, both waiting for the other to start. I knew what he was here for. He was here to evaluate Elizabeth's leadership skills on the base.

"Let's start at the beginning of this whole thing, shall we?" Woolsey murmured. "Now, we can say that this all started with the Wraith called Michael." I clenched my fists under the table. "You were against this—experiment, from the start, weren't you not?"

I nodded. "Yes, I was."

"And what changed that opinion?" Woolsey asked me.

I didn't hesitate. "I trust her. I believe that Doctor Weir had the best interest for everyone, and so she had my full support. And she still does."

"Even though it almost caused the destruction of this city? And the Wraith almost making it to Earth?"

"Doctor Weir doesn't do anything for selfish reasons," I told Woolsey sternly. "She believed that the alliance would help us lower the population of the Wraith. With that, it would be beneficial for everyone in this galaxy. She has my support for trying to make this galaxy better for everyone."

Woolsey smiled. "Of course."

I emerged from the conference room half an hour later. My nails were still digging into my palm as I slowly relaxed my hands and marched away from the room. That Woolsey was a prick. It was blatantly obvious that he was trying to get Elizabeth removed from command here, he could've been a little less discreet about it.

I stormed up to the control room. I wanted Elizabeth's opinion on the matter. As I came up the stairs, I saw Rodney, Elizabeth and John standing around a console with worried looks on their faces. "What's wrong?" I asked them.

Their heads glanced up to see me. "There's a hive ship heading for the site with the Wraith," John said to me.

I felt my eyes widen. "What? How would they even know there are people on that planet?"

"We don't know," Elizabeth said to me with a shake of her head.

"Carson is still on that planet," I stated to the group. I saw the dread already on their faces as they too had already realized that fact. "We need to go and get him, before the Wraith get there."

"The Daedalus' hyper drive is still under repairs," Rodney told me. "By the time they would be able to get to the planet the Wraith would've come and gone."

"But what about our Hive Ship?" John asked him. Rodney groaned, as if he knew John was going to ask him about that. "We used the hyper drive to get there."

"We don't have any weapons for a fight," Rodney retorted.

"We just need to get there, we'll fly down in a jumper—save Carson and the others and then wait for the Daedalus to come get us," John explained.

"There's no way to tell if we'll overload the hyper drive system from using it so much while the ship is so badly damaged still," Rodney snapped.

"We have to do something," I argued, planting my hands firmly on my hips.

John turned to stare at me. "We will be," he faced Rodney again. "While we're going just try and do as much repairing as you can do."

The scientist rolled his eyes to the back of his head. "Oh, you make it sound _so_ easy." Rodney turned away to close the laptop. He placed it under his arm and hurried out of the control room. I faced John and Elizabeth.

"I'm going to gear up," I told them both. Elizabeth gave me the go ahead—I didn't look at John as I knew he wanted to say something. I turned and hightailed it out of there and down towards the armory.

 **X**

I walked into the empty armory. I scanned the racks as I took ahold of the vest and started pulling it on when I heard the door open. I knew that it was going to be John, and I was right. I glanced at him from over my shoulder as I finished zipping up the vest and then turned around. I met his hazel stare for a moment before I looked away.

"You aren't letting me come, are you," I stated.

I heard him sigh. "Mia, you know why you can't go."

I met his gaze once again as John stepped up to me so that we were almost chest-to-chest. "It's Carson, John," I whispered.

"I know," he replied. He raised his hand and brushed it over my cheek lovingly. "That's why we're going to do everything to get him home safely."

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, my fingers getting snagged on the knots. "I can't…sit here and watch everyone I care about go off and risk their lives. It's not me."

"I get it, Mia. I really do," John reached out and pulled me to him. His arms went around my shoulders as my head fit under his chest. "I know that our chances would be a lot higher if you could go with us…but for now, and for the next eight months you just have to focus on keeping yourself and the baby safe."

I sighed in defeat as I wrapped my arms around him. He was right…annoyingly. I knew that he wasn't going to let me go, but I thought I might as well try anyway. "Promise me that you'll come back?" I mumbled into his shoulder. "Don't take any unnecessary risks …just come back in one piece."

"When have I not?" John smirked down at me as I titled my head back to glower at him.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," I told him.

John chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head. "Mia, there isn't anything you wouldn't do for the people you love."

I smiled, ok, that was true. "Alright," I said with a laugh. "Don't do anything Rodney wouldn't do."

John shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well not bother then."

We both laughed together, and just as suddenly, the door to the armory opened. John and I let go of one another but whoever was coming in would've no doubt just seen us in embrace together. And to make matters even more complicated—it was Elizabeth. I felt my blood run cold as I tried to put a few extra feet between John and I, but it wouldn't have done any good. She would've seen us together. Her eyebrows were furrowed as her eyes flicked between both John and I. I was too scared to turn and look at John to see what he was feeling right now. I was frozen to the spot. I didn't want Elizabeth to find out this way.

"I would say that I'm surprised but I'm really not," Elizabeth finally spoke after a tense few seconds. Her gaze hardened at both of us. "Just tell me this—what the hell are you two thinking?"

I couldn't speak. I was frozen to the spot, literally. I couldn't even open my mouth to speak a single word. It was like my body had gone into shock, all I could do was stare at her and think in my head, 'this is not how I planned this!'

John's hand had still been on my shoulder and I felt him give it a small squeeze. But it seemed that he was at a loss for words too as he remained silent. We couldn't make any excuses now, we had been caught red handed.

"Do you two realize that if Woolsey got any sort of wind of this that all three of us would be shipped back to Earth right this second?"

"We know," John said. I was just thankful that at least one of us was able to communicate with her right now.

Elizabeth looked like she wanted to combust on him. "You do, do you? Well explain to me then how you both thought that this," she gestured to us, "was a great idea?"

"It's not like it happened overnight!" John exclaimed in annoyance. Which really wasn't helping in our favor for him to be getting annoyed.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Elizabeth snapped. She sighed and rubbed her face with her head. "Just tell me how long this has been going on?"

I finally plucked up the courage to speak. I cleared my throat, "over a year." It came out in more of a whisper but Elizabeth heard me. I saw her expression go from anger to surprise. It meant that she had obviously made some assumptions of her own but didn't think our relationship had been going off for that long.

"Over a year?" she clarified to us, her eyebrows raised. She scoffed and turned away from us, folding her arms over her chest. "I had a feeling something like this might happen between the two of you, but I just thought you wouldn't be so stupid as to pursue it."

Ouch, that stung. On the plus side it seemed we had managed to hide it from her for a long time without her suspecting a thing—but that wasn't the point, shit. John had seen my reaction to her statement as he gave my shoulder another squeeze.

"Look, is this really the time to be chewing us out right now? We've got other important things to worry about."

"You're right," she narrowed her gaze at him. "Gear up, go and save Carson and when you both return we'll be having a nice long conversation." Elizabeth turned to go.

"Mia's not coming," John said.

My eyes widened in fear. Oh hell no, he was not about to drop this on her too. I don't care if I had to stay in the jumper the whole time. John was _not_ telling Elizabeth that I was pregnant right this second!

I watched Elizabeth turn back around as her stare flicked between us. "And why not?"

"John don't," I grabbed onto his arm and pulled roughly. I put as much desperation into my voice as I could. I did not want this right now. For a moment he looked down at me, and I tried with everything I had to convey with my eyes that he shouldn't do this.

"Mia can't come," John said.

"Please don't," I begged him, shaking my head. I wanted to knock him out but that would cause even more problems for us.

"She's no longer on active duty."

I spun around, facing Elizabeth, waiting to see her reaction. She looked confused. Good, stay that way please, for my sanity and yours. That was until she fixed her gaze onto me more firmly. And, as if a light bulb had gone off inside her, her eyes widened and then she groaned. "Oh…don't tell me…"

I stepped towards her. "Elizabeth…" I whispered quietly. She stared at me for a moment, moved her gaze behind me to John and then back to me. "I…"

I was at a complete loss for words. I didn't know what to say to her, to try and make this situation better then the shit show it already was. I had a feeling there was no coming back from this.

Elizabeth gave me a look as if to say that she was just 'done' with both of us, and she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. I watched her go. I sighed in defeat and shut my eyes. I just needed a moment to process what the hell had just happened in the armory, the armory of all fucking places.

I only opened my eyes when I felt John by my side. His had caressed my back. "Hey, you know that not everyone was going to be happy with this."

I shook my head and subtly moved away from his hand. I was upset and mad right now, I wanted space. "But the one person we needed to be happy—was her," I said glumly, staring up at him. I could tell that John realized this as he grimaced as rubbed the back of his head.

"Mia…"

"Just go, John," I cut him off. I didn't want to hear it. He should have waited until everything had calmed down. He should have given her some time to process us before he told her about the baby. "Go and save Carson and we'll deal with all of this when you come back."

I still wasn't looking at him, but I could feel his stare on me. He moved around a little before I felt his hand cup my cheek and he turned my head so that I was staring up at him. "It'll be ok, Mia." He paused before giving me a small smile. "I love you."

I pressed my lips together and managed a flick of a smile. "Love you," my tone didn't really help, I was upset.

He quirked one eyebrow at me, "Say it like you mean it," he teased.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I love you, but you piss me off sometimes."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he grinned down at me. I gave him a pointed look as he bent down and pressed a quick, hard kiss to my lips. "I'll be back before you know it. Stay safe, spud." He patted my stomach lightly.

"Spud?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

John chuckled. "He's got to have a nickname."

"Get out of here before I break up with you for real," I growled playfully at him.

John laughed and zipped up his vest. "You can't anymore, you're stuck with me for eighteen years."

"We'll see," I said smartly. John sent me his grin. The one that had my knees weak. It was the one that drew me to him at the beginning. That grin, his playfulness, his loyalty was everything that I couldn't live without. He approached me again, took my face in his hands and pressed another kiss on my lips. It was a kiss that took my breath away and made my knees wobble.

"We got this," he said breathlessly. "It's you and me, Major."

I smiled, "You got it, Colonel."

* * *

The others left soon after John and I had separated. I had watched from the control room monitors as the hive left our orbit and went into hyperspace. I could feel stares on my back, technicians wondering why the hell I was being left behind. I felt self conscious for the first time since being in Atlantis, I was worried if I turned the wrong way people would see the way my lower stomach was bulging slightly. I had to ignore it; in a few more weeks I doubt I would be able to hide it. I shuddered at the thought of it. People would be looking at me and thinking 'wow look at the Major getting knocked up and having a child out of Wedlock'. Just great.

I glanced over my shoulder and looked over at the empty office across that catwalk. I hadn't seen Elizabeth since the armory, no one had. She was probably somewhere throwing darts on a board with both mine and John's face attached to it. I sighed and gave the monitor one last longing look before I turned on my heel and left the control room.

I ended up at the mess hall. I was ravenous, thanks to…Spud. I was seriously going to kill him…anyway; I took a tray and headed outside to the balcony. I was late evening and most of the people here were finishing up and heading to their quarters for bed. I didn't feel tired, just worried. The last time they had all gone off I thought I had lost them, now I was here again—left behind once more.

I spotted Mr Woolsey walking around the mess hall but was super thankful he didn't come anywhere near me. I was so not in the mood for another interrogation—uh, interview. I enjoyed the peace I had out on the balcony, pushing my potatoes around my plate while I brooded in my own anxiety and thoughts. This was so not healthy for me. I was sipping my water when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye approach my table. I hoped to all gods that it wasn't Woolsey. I set my water down and turned to the figure, I was shocked to see Elizabeth standing in front of me. No darts in sight.

She looked uncomfortable, well that made two of us, as she gestured to the empty chair across from me. "Can I join you?" She asked pleasantly, there wasn't a hint of malice in her tone. I nodded and watched her sit ever so slowly. She folded her arms on the table and leaned forwards slightly. "So I take it if you really haven't gone with them that it's true?" I saw in her eyes that she so _didn't_ want it to be true. But I was about to burst her bubble, that's for sure.

I sighed, "yeah. There's a big old positive sign above my head for the next eight months."

Elizabeth managed a weak smile. Thankfully she was appreciating my shitty sarcasm even in this predicament. "I want to apologise for how I acted earlier."

Well that was a shocker. I didn't expect that to come out of her mouth, and she looked sincere as well. "Elizabeth…" I stuttered over what I was going to say. "Y-You don't have anything to apologise for."

She pressed her lips into a firm line and tensed up her shoulders for a moment before letting them go. "I do, Mia. I could have handled that situation a lot differently."

I shook my head; "It wasn't fair of him to drop all of that on you at once. I wanted to wait until after this whole Wraith debacle was over and done with. It's not like we don't have enough stress as it is."

She tried to hide her smile. "Still, I am sorry. The way I reacted probably didn't help things in the slightest."

"To be fair I was waiting for you to throw something at me," I grinned at her. Elizabeth laughed and rubbed the side of her neck, something I picked up on her doing when she was feeling anxious. And she had a whole lot of anxiety with Woolsey breathing down her neck.

"You said you weren't really surprised about us?" I asked, "When did you realize something was up between us?"

She looked like she was racking through her memories for a few moments before she had her answer. "I think it was when you were missing, when Ford had you. The way he was when you were gone—I'll never forget it. He was different. He's always been a determined person but I noticed the little things. The way he stared off for minutes at a time. The look he would give anyone when they spoke about you. But it really wasn't until we thought that he was gone that I knew. Your reaction to him being dead was how anyone would react had they lost their loved one."

I looked away. That was something I really didn't like remembering. I could think of it clearly, the pain, the sadness and the unbearable grief that went through me when I thought I would never see him again. I had felt a lot of grief in my life, but that day had been the worst. I had never experienced anything like it.

"Did you know? About your pregnancy before we thought he was…gone?" I noticed that she had paused. She must have realized how hard it was for me to think about him being dead, and I was thankful for that.

"Yeah," I leant my head on my hand and started pushing my potatoes around my plate once more. "I found out shortly after we got back from Taranis."

"I can't imagine what that was like for you," Elizabeth said sympathetically. She shook her head to herself.

"Carson had his suspicions a couple of weeks beforehand. He had seen some of my symptoms and then he had run the test when he had my blood sample from coming back. It was hard at first, to accept it. I didn't want this, I wasn't ready—neither of us were…and a part of me still isn't." Elizabeth listened intently. "And there's the constant fear of what next? What's going to happen when I start showing? If Woolsey's here for much longer he is sure as hell going to be asking questions and then I'll be on the first wormhole back to Earth."

After my little rant we were both silent. Elizabeth obviously lost in her own thoughts. Maybe she was thinking about just sending me back to Earth right now, it'd be less hassle and wouldn't affect her if I suddenly went off the grid.

"If you want me to go, I will," I said in defeat.

Elizabeth's head jerked up in surprise, "What?"

"I get it," I shrugged my shoulders. "I really do. I'm a liability, a disappointment. What good am I now? I can't fight. I can't protect anyone. When Stargate Command and the I.O.A find out I'm as good as dead. I'm willing to take the fall on my own so that you and John will be safe."

"Mia," Elizabeth whispered in disbelief. "There's no way in hell I would let you give up so easily!"

"I'm not giving up!" I retorted. "I'm just being realistic. Seriously, what good am I anymore?"

Elizabeth reached across the table and grasped onto my forearm. "Mia you are so much more then just a soldier."

"Really?" I said in disbelief and a hint of sarcasm.

Elizabeth frowned at my lack of self-esteem. "Mia, you just helped Rodney McKay, an Astrophysicist and whatever the hell he is repair an alien ship. You figured out their systems not only over this past week but even a year ago when we had the dart. You know these Ancient databases like the back of your hand and can read Ancient just as well as I can." I felt my expression change from brooding to bashful. "You lead this entire base while I was on Earth and John presumed dead. You can fly jumpers, not to mention repair them and also harness their power for other uses. So don't tell me that the only thing you're good at is being a soldier because you are more valuable to me here then on Earth."

I felt my throat suddenly develop a lump that became hard to swallow. I…had no idea that she thought about me like that. Hell, that anyone did. I had made a name for myself on this base for being the toughest bitch here. Sending countless military to the infirmary. Over time I had branched off into learning the Ancient systems. It had seemed like the right thing to do seeing as I had the ATA gene and picking it up had been a breeze because of my mechanical engineering degree. I thought back on everything I had been able to do over the two years I had been here. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had been more into the science aspect of things then the military. I was always helping Rodney, always stuck with my data pad going over texts and diagnostics. When had I become such a nerd?

"You really think that?" I asked timidly, discreetly wiping my eyes of the traitorous tears that had tried to fall.

"I know that," Elizabeth said with a furrowed brow. She released my arm and sat back in her chair. "Now, on the record, you know that I cannot for the life of me condone this relationship between you and Colonel Sheppard. I still think you're both stupid and reckless for continuing it."

I pressed my lips into a firm line and tried not to smirk at her, that would just make things worse after we had just had the mega heart to heart.

"But off the record…I think I might be able to help."

"What?" I scoffed. "Why?"

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair again and smiled at me. "It might be a little selfish of me to say this. But I know that if I send you back to Earth, John will follow right behind you and then I would have lost two of my best people here. This whole city is thriving not just because of me, but also because of everyone and especially you and John. I'm not going to let you walk away from it that easily."

"But you were so against us not four hours ago, what changed your mind? I honestly didn't think you would come around the easy let alone this quick?"

Elizabeth looked guilty as she twiddled her fingers around one another. "I was just caught off guard, and with Woolsey around I just don't want to loose either of you to him. He would have all of us gone if he got wind of the slightest scandal. But while I was thinking over everything, I wasn't just sulking or raging," she grinned as I averted my gaze. Could she suddenly read minds now, did she have a feeling I was imagining her throwing darts at my head?

"I think I might have a way to help us all," she said with a hopeful smile.

I jerked up in my seat, suddenly very interested in this plan. It was something that I needed to hear. I was so worried about what the hell we were going to say to any of the higher ups when they started asked why I wasn't being put back on active duty.

"I was going through your file because I saw something a while ago that I benched as I assumed you would just automatically have it resigned."

I blinked at her in confusion, what the bloody hell was she going on about? "Have what resigned?"

"Your contract," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Last month I received an email for your Superiors stating that your three-year contract is up. The one you received after being reinstated as a Lieutenant. The actual date isn't until the end of this month but if we put in a request to keep you on as a civilian technician, and they can't say no as you're way to valuable with your gene and your studies on Wraith ships and Ancient databases to let you go."

"Holy shit," I whispered in disbelief. Was this is? Was this my ticket of freedom? I had completely forgotten about my contract with the army. Obviously everyone signs when upon entering into the forces, mine had been a special case as I had pretty much voided my old one but they had given me a three- year. It was sort of a probationary time frame to get my act back together.

"We'll have to fob the timeframe of your pregnancy so that it lines up with your discharge but they really won't look into that much. But they'll no doubt have questions about your relationship with John considering after this you'll 'suddenly' become pregnant."

I groaned. "So lie to Stargate Command and the I.O.A?"

"It's either that or a dishonorable discharge and a one way ticket to planet Earth." I didn't really have to think about it for too long. I knew what my answer was going to be and Elizabeth did too.

"If we're found to be lying, then it's not just John and I that are going to be taking the fall. You'll get in trouble too."

"I'm always in trouble with the I.O.A," Elizabeth joked with a grin. "But I'm not going to let people I care about be split up for stupid reasons."

I raised my eyebrows in shock. This woman was just full of surprises today. I didn't expect our conversation to head this way. I honestly thought that after John got back from saving Carson we would both be planted in front of Woolsey to explain ourselves and then be kicked through the Stargate.

I felt bad, I had already drawn up a preconceived perception of Elizabeth and what she would do, and I should have known that she wasn't that type of person. She would do anything for us. And here she was, thinking up of a plan to keep us all together and happy. I didn't deserve her kindness. I had fucked up so much in my life that I never really thought that I deserved a lot of happiness. But here Elizabeth was, dishing it out on a silver platter for me.

"It'll all work out in the end, Mia." She said positively. "The I.O.A aren't stupid. They know how valuable you are to this expedition. And if that means I need to fight them on that then so be it, I've got your back."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "You're doing more for me then I ever thought possible."

"It's what friends do. Now head off to bed, it's not good for you to be loosing this much sleep."

I smirked at her as I nodded and rose from the chair and gathered up my tray of uneaten food. "I know, but I have a feeling I'll be sleeping pretty well tonight."

"I'll keep you posted if anything changes with the team," she stood from her chair too.

"Thanks, goodnight, Elizabeth."

"Goodnight, Mia."

* * *

The next few days weren't so traumatic. The Daedalus kept in radio contact and told us when they had everyone onboard safe and sound. Carson had been rescued but his team ad unfortunately been killed and our lovely hive ship was gone. They hadn't gone into too much detail about the rest but once I had heard that everyone was safe I was finally able to relax once more.

I was finally able to admit that not being in on the action was still killing me. I wanted to be out there with everyone, feeling the adrenaline pumping through my veins as we thwarted evil Wraith plans and saved the damsels in distress (sorry Carson). But as everyone kept telling me, I had a good reason to be kept out of the action now. It was a different kind of action now, one that still had my head in the toilet bowl every morning like clockwork and no longer liked me eating pickles. In a way I was still getting used to the idea that I was growing an actual human being inside of me, which was still crazy in itself but I was still waking up forgetting that there was a little apple seed sized baby in there. Or was it bigger now? I can't keep track anymore. Once Carson was back I would have to ask him once more.

Woolsey had finally left Atlantis after news about the Wraith hopefully being destroyed. And Elizabeth had remained. So he wasn't a giant dick after all—damn, me and my preconceived presumptions of people. He could return though, in exactly a month to interrogate someone else on base…and that would definitely be me. But until then, I was going to relish in the fact that all my friends finally knew, John finally knew, Elizabeth knew and everyone was ok with it. Surprisingly. It had been a lot easier then I thought it would be, that's for damn sure.

But I knew that this was only the beginning, because it was going to get harder from here on. And the baby wasn't even here yet. It was like the calm before the storm, all those years ago back when John and I hadn't even began to realize our feelings for one another yet. It had all finally accumulated into this one moment. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let the pessimist in me ruin it.

Well, not for another day or so.

 **X**

It must have been the dead of night when I was sleepily awoken in my bedroom. It was only after my brain had slowly switched on that I realized my door alarm was going off. I groaned, cursing whomever the hell was waking me up at this time. That was until that I remembered John was supposed to be getting back tonight. I jumped out of bed, ignoring the wave of nausea that rolled over me as I bounded over to the door and waved my hand over the sensor. It slid open and before I could even get a word out to him he was pushing me back, his hand cupping my face as he bent his head to kiss me in a heated kiss. I made a small noise of surprise as I heard the door hut behind us as he walked us back towards the bed, still kissing me.

I slid my hands up his chest and gripped them onto his shirt as he pulled away and kissed my cheek and forehead. "I missed you not being there," he said softly.

I reached up to run my fingers through his hair as I pulled him down to me. We kissed again, our tongues dancing with one another as his arms found their way to my back as he pulled my body to his. I could feel the bottom of my stomach, the part that was bulging mold against his stomach. It felt good.

"I kept thinking about what I said to Elizabeth, you were right I should have waited—"

"Stop, it's ok," I cut him off, reaching up and flicking the front of his hair a little bit. "Everything's fine. I talked with Elizabeth and she's going to help us."

"What?" John said in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Are you still sleeping?"

"It's true," I said with a laugh. "We had a nice long chat and she want's to help. She doesn't want to loose us." I felt his fingers start to trace circles on my back. I felt the familiar tingle in my lower region.

"Well what did she say? I was expecting to get run out of here with flaming pitchforks—" I silenced him with a kiss.

"Later," I said seductively. "Right now, I want you." I said as I trailed my hand south. John grinned playfully as he swept me up in another breathtaking kiss.

 **X**

I lay on my side much later. John was still awake too; one of his arms was draped over my waist as his hand rubbed my belly. At first I thought it was a little weird, but then it began to feel nice and soon I forgot about it all together.

"Do you think he's dead…Michael?"

I heard him sigh from behind me. "We can't be sure, but we can hope that he is."

I felt the anxiety creep up but I tried to push it away. I began to concentrate on the feeling of John's hand on me. "I don't think he is. He's too smart, too cunning to let something like that stop him."

John pressed a kiss to my shoulder and then to my neck. "If he isn't, we'll be ready for him next time."

"I don't want there to be a next time," I whispered. It still irritated me about how much that one man could scare me. I hated that he had so much power over me.

"Next time we see him, I'm going along with whatever you want Mia. He's not going to threaten you or our kid and get away with it. Hell, if you had told me what he said before you tried you assassination attempt I would've done it myself."

It made me smile a little. I still didn't take back what I felt about killing Michael, if we had done it when I had wanted we wouldn't be in this limbo state wondering about if he was alive or not.

"He's dead the next time I see him," John said, with underlying fury in his tone. I turned my head to see him in the darkness. His face was frowning but he looked to me as I spoke.

"Not if I get to him first."

* * *

 **Whew, I was worried that after I wrote the last chapter that I would loose that spark of motivation but it seems I havent! Yay I'm so happy! I know this chapter was pretty much all dialogue but it's gonna be pretty slow for a while as Mia is pregnant and she can't go all gung ho anymore. Sadface. But I hope you all enjoyed and I loved how many of you returned after my long absence, it means the world to me!**

 **REPLIES**

thompsonmaria9 - Thank you! Glad to see you back after all this time.

GoldenGod48 - Haha it's a good guess you've got going there but I'm not revealing anything, sorry!

Julka212 - Ah I missed you so much too! Seriously when i was on my break and feeling down I would go and reread reviews and yours always made me smile so much! omg that Rodney scene was actually so spontaneous and I originally wasnt going to have it but I'm so glad I put it in! I teared up too at the end, again didn't plan on it but it just sort of happened ahaha hope you enjoyed this one!

Adela - Thank you!

parmakai66 - Thank you! Well they told Weir, or well she found out. I know some parts might be farfetched but hey if Mia went back to Earth then the story would end hahah and I have a lot more planned out for these two in the other seasons!

Guest 64: Yessss she is back! Thank you, and can you imagine them with a 2 year old that has an attitude just like Mia? ahaha

haike.m - Thank you!

Mogor - Thank you, it takes me a little bit of time but hopefully I'll keep them coming for everyone!

 **Thank you everyone for reading and being here after all this time! See you all next time!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Muddy Combat Boots

Hiya me again! I know I was gone for a while. I was having some major writers block for this chapter so to get over that I just chucked a whole lotta smut in here xD

So for all those people begging me for some Sheppia smut, here you go! This chapter is pretty short compared to my others, so the start is just some lighthearted ness and then cover yours eyes if you wanna skip the smut cause there's a bit. But enjoy nonetheless my fellow smuttians xd

again this isn't my best work, eff u writers block but hopefully next chapter we'll see a bit more canon material and Lucius Malfo-i mean Lavin coming to play

* * *

 **Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 5: Muddy Combat Boots_

* * *

I stared in the mirror at the girl looking back at me. She was tall, with long honey colored hair that didn't know if it wanted to be straight or wavy. Her eyes were a clear blue, but heavy shadows underneath dulled their colour slightly. Her figure was slim, a blessing for most but a curse for her. At the lower part of her stomach, a tiny little bulge was present. The black shirt she wore hid most of it but it wouldn't be long before not even the shirt could save her.

I sighed. Today was the day. I was no longer apart of the Military…well just not on Atlantis. My papers still had to be sent off and then processed before I would actually be discharged but until then, I was to commence duties of a Mechanical Engineer. And I would be answering to none other then Rodney McKay himself. He was going to be so pleased with himself over this.

Hanging over the back of the desk chair was my new jacket; I reached out to it and quickly shrugged it on. The blue panels were foreign to me, but symbolized my new position.

"The blue suits you," John said, appearing from his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. I spared him a glance, before I frowned and faced myself in the mirror again.

"I hate it. I miss the black. Black suits me more," I said bitterly as I did the zip up and gave myself another once over.

I heard John chuckle as he opened his draws and found his uniform and begun getting dressed. "You might find out that you like being a scientist."

I gave him a look. "I'm now working under Rodney, how am I going to enjoy this?"

"You'll find a way," John grinned at me as he pulled his shirt over his head and gave his hair a ruffle. "You and Rodney have this special bond that one can only dream of."

"We literally try to throttle each other every time we see each other," I said with a deadpan.

"Then there you go, special bond."

I shook my head at him as I reached for my tablet that was sitting on his desk. It was the one that Rodney had gotten me for my birthday two years ago. Hard to believe it had been that long already. "Everything's changing," I said sadly.

John stepped up to me; he placed his hands on my shoulders reassuringly and rubbed circles with his thumbs. "For the better, I promise," he said, kissing my cheek quickly before he disappeared back into the bathroom. I turned back to the mirror and tried to smile, but it was weak.

"Yeah…for the better."

* * *

The data pad was tucked under my arm as I walked the corridor. I entered the transporter and took it up to the science labs on level five. Rodney had radioed me not too long after I had sat down for breakfast to come and meet him at some labs, stat. He obviously wanted to put me to work straight away, and was no doubt relishing in the fact that he could now order me around and I couldn't say jack shit about it. Well, I could, but then he'd probably get me into trouble.

So for however long, I needed to obey his orders and do my job. It was just like being in the Military, expect there we no guns…and no excitement. Unless you corner a scientist at nine in the morning before they've had their fourth cup of coffee.

I reached the lab as I pushed open the door and saw Rodney typing away at the console. Around him were Ancient systems that had obviously been transported up here from various parts of the city for diagnostics. A few more laptops dotted the room and what looked like some broken wraith technology in the corner of the room.

"Morning, boss," I said with a mock salute. Rodney barely lifted his gaze to me. I rolled my eyes and moved to stand next to him. "What are you working on?" I asked him. He held up a finger to me, the universal sign for wait. I tapped my foot in annoyance as I waited another minute before I heard a beep from the console.

"And done, morning to you to."

"Thanks for finally acknowledging me, no wonder you're still single, you play hard to get too hard."

Rodney gave me a tight-lipped smile. "Funny. And here I was about to be so nice to you."

"Well, that's a change," I set down my pad and glanced around the room once more. "And, do pray tell, what were you going to be so nice to me about?"

Rodney spreads open his arms. "This is your new lab."

I choked on my spit. "W-what?"

Rodney looked delighted. "Well, it's certainly not as big as mine—and doesn't have as nice a view as mine, mine actually has a balcony and yours doesn't so—"

"Rodney!" I cut him off with his stupid ramblings. Even when he had just done something incredible he couldn't keep his ego in check. But that was just Rodney. "What do you mean that this is my lab?" I asked him.

Rodney looked at me like I was an imbecile. To him I probably was anyway. Rodney folded his arms and nodded his head to some consoles around the room. "Well, I thought, seeing as you're off active duty you're going to need something to keep you occupied before you go stir crazy and start beating people up again."

I gave him an unimpressed look, which he blatantly ignored.

"These consoles," he pointed to the three behind him, "need to be repaired and then analyzed. The ones over here are still a mystery to us; I'll leave you to figure out what it is that they do. There's some hive ship wreckage over there in the corner for you to do some testing on and the laptops _should_ be able, and I stress the should, help you with determining what those consoles do."

I stared around the room in awe. I just couldn't get over the fact that Rodney had done this of his own free will. "I don't know what to say…uh, thanks I guess. I really didn't expect this, Rodney."

He shrugged, looking a little bashful. It wasn't often that Rodney did nice things for people, and when he did there was always some hidden agenda. And I couldn't find one.

"Yeah well, I'll be working on the Intergalactic Bridge for the next couple of months so I won't have time to look over most of this stuff. So I'm leaving it to my newest minion."

And there's the hidden agenda. I knew it would come out. I smirked, but silently wishing that I would be going with them on their hunt for space gates. As I looked around the room, I knew that most of this stuff would take weeks and if not months to go through. And if I did figure out some new cool things for the base it would totally boost my credibility to the I.O.A when John and I dropped the baby bomb on them in a couple months time.

"It's a shame really, you'll be missing out on all the team bonding time. Seeing new planets, meeting new people." Rodney missed the death glare I gave him. "But then you'll get to stay here on base, nice and cozy as you peruse through countless databases for hours on end. Man I couldn't imagine anything better then that."

"Oh, I can think of a few things," I said sarcastically with a hint of venom. One would be down at the shooting range, which is now off limits to me as well. Maybe I could convince Ronon to let me fire his gun a few times into the ocean, just so that I can feel that adrenaline once more.

Rodney was dazed for a few more moments. Probably fantasizing about math equations and a black hole suddenly becoming available to him. He clapped his hands and rounded on me again. "Well, I'm off. Those Space gates aren't going to harvest themselves. Zelenka should be around if you need any help."

"Thanks, Rodney," I muttered, settling into the chair.

"Try not to do anything too dangerous," he patted my back harshly.

I narrowed my eyes at the desk. "I won't," I said through gritted teeth. I watched Rodney leave with a look of forlorn. "I'll be here…inside…nice and safe."

Once Rodney had left, the lab was suddenly silent. I wasn't used to quiet. My forte was running, yelling, gunfire, explosions and all those other hellish works. It was going to take some getting used to that my life for a while was going to be quiet, quiet and brooding. And with that being said, I got to work.

* * *

Ok, so it wasn't that bad being stuck in the lab for the whole day. It was much, much worse. I would find myself spacing out every couple of minutes, wondering what the others would be doing right this second? Are they having a high-speed space chase with a bunch of Wraith darts? Are they running for their lives? Trying to outwit another alien race? It was eating me up inside.

I was getting sick of looking at the Ancient text mumbo jumbo that it was all starting to blur together. How the hell do scientists do this all day? I had only been sitting here for about four hours and I was already going stir crazy. I needed some sort of action and adventure in my life while I was here. Maybe I could start up a fight club? Without me personally getting involved in the fights…no, that was a bad idea, plus it's probably illegal.

Just as I was about to start bashing my head against the desk in painful boredom I heard the door open and to my absolute delight Lorne walked in. He wasn't geared up and he didn't look panicked so there was (sadly) nothing wrong that needed my attention.

"Afternoon, Doctor Sumner." Lorne said with a cheeky grin as he leaned against the high desk, near where I was sitting on the stool.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not a Doctor, Lorne. I never did my Ph.D. at College so I'm just…Mia, now." Even I could hear the disappointment in my voice as Lorne gave me a pitying look.

"Well, I like this Mia a lot more. I mean you can be as casual as you want now," he said as he flicked my loose hair in front of my face. I snorted and slapped at his hands. "You don't have to be on call all the time so you can relax as much as you want."

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "Relaxing, in this place?"

"Worth a try," he smiled at me charmingly. "So what has Rodney got you working on?"

I swiveled around on the stool and held my arms out. "Well, he has given me lots to do, but for now I've just been having a look at this hive ship wreckage that the Daedalus picked up for us. It's from the hive that we had before she was blown out of the sky. I want to run a cross examination with the dart that we have in storage here and see if all the materials and what not still add up."

"Impressive," Lorne commented, placing his hands on his hips.

"Thank you," I said with a smirk. "It's nice to know that even though I can't be useful out in the field anymore, I can still do some good here." Lorne smiled, but then looked like he still wanted to ask me something. "What is it?"

He looked away from me awkwardly and then tried to meet my gaze again but seemed to find something really interesting over my head. "Have you thought about it? About if you're going to return to the field after the baby comes?"

I sighed and leaned my head onto my hand that was propped up on the desk. "To be honest, I haven't given it much thought. With everything that's been going on lately if just been thinking about the now." I lifted my head and started twisting my fingers around one another. "I mean—I want to return out there. I want to go so badly but…isn't there that whole mothers instinct thing that forces you to stay home and look after your kid?"

Lorne shrugged at me. "Look, I don't know. For one I don't have a kid so I don't know anything about that, sorry."

"No, it's fine," I said quickly, waving him off. "It's just hard, you know? I've never had…like, pregnant friends or a mom to tell me what to do or what to expect. I'm stabbing in the dark here and that's the part that scares me most. Like I'm just going to screw something up."

"Well, if you do," Lorne said cheekily as he patted my shoulder reassuringly and then gave it a light squeeze. "I'll be here to pick you back up…and then we can laugh about it weeks later." I chuckled with him as I lightly hit his stomach. "So, what do you say to a little break? We can go and get some late lunch?"

I nodded and stretched my arms behind my head. "Sounds good, but first…can we go for a run?" I begged him as I clapped my hands together and faced him.

Lorne looked down at my stomach nervously then back up. "Uh, can you? I mean should you be working out like that?"

I rolled my eyes at him and gave him a deadpan look. "Lorne, I'm pregnant not disabled. Carson says that healthy exercise is fine for pregnant women. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be sparring with anyone."

Lorne gave a long sigh and placed his hands on his hips. "Ok, well if you say so." I grinned up at him in delight.

* * *

"I think that's the first time I've ever beaten you in something," Lorne panted, leaning on his knees. He used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow. I took a long drink from my bottle and wiped the sweat off my face using my baggy grey shirt.

"Yeah—well, I'm not exactly in my top physical condition as of now. Relish in it, because it won't last forever."

Lorne chuckled as I tossed him my bottle and he squirted it into his mouth. He tipped some over his head and hair and then ruffled it up with his fingers. I watched him with a quirked brow as the water trickled off his chin and onto the floor.

"I hope you're going to get a mop," I said with a pointed stare.

Lorne grinned and winked at me playfully. He tossed my bottle back to me and started walking off. I rolled my eyes at his retreating back but followed after him.

Our route back to the living quarters took us near the control room. It was then we both heard the Stargate activate. As far as I knew there were only a few teams off world right now, one of them being my old team. Both Lorne and I paused in the doorway to watch who would return. It was a few seconds later when the shield was lowered and a puddle jumper came flying through the gate. From here I could see the forms of John and Teyla in the pilot seats as I felt a sad smile appear on my face. How I wished I was with them on their missions. This sucked so bad.

I turned to Lorne. "Hey, I'm gonna go see them. See how they went and everything." Lorne smirked down at me.

"You can take the girl out of the fight but you can't take the fight out of the girl," he muttered. He nudged me playfully as I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, har har. Go take a shower, you smell."

"Same to you, Sumner," he mock saluted me and hurried off. I headed into the control room and up the stairs. As I reached the technicians my team came down the stairs, arguing apparently.

"We agreed, Rodney, that we will not take a Stargate that is in orbit around a populated planet!" John argued, glaring over his shoulder at the bitter-faced scientist.

Rodney scoffed at him, "Their technological advances are no where near capable enough to support inter-planetary travel! They have no need for a orbiting Stargate."

"You don't know that," John warned him. They reached the base of the stairs as Teyla and Ronon followed close behind, not engaging in the current argument. I didn't blame them, arguing with Rodney was like arguing with a brick wall.

"They just invented fire!" Rodney bellowed, as if yelling louder would make his point come across better. "If they ever get around to space travel—and it is highly unlikely—it's going to be a least five hundred years, or more!"

"And when that time comes, they're going to need a space gate."

I cleared my throat from beside them. "I see your mission is going well." All four heads turned to me.

Rodney sighed. "Oh great, here we go—let's hear your input then."

I crossed my arms and gave him a smug smile. "Actually, I agree with you, Rodney."

"What?" The scientist spluttered, staring at me incredulously. I saw Teyla and Ronon both give me a surprised expression. John narrowed his eyes at me and pointed his finger at me.

"You're only saying that because he gave you your own lab."

"Maybe." I countered with a grin. "But he does have a point."

"Never thought I'd see the day those two actually agreed on something," I heard Ronon mutter under his breath at the back of the group.

Rodney beamed and clapped his hand and then rounded on John. "Ha! You see, I'm not the only one. Thank you!"

John shoved him out of the way and stepped up to me so that we were almost chest-to-chest. "And just what is your input in this whole matter?"

I smirked, meeting his intimidating gaze. John hates it when I don't side with him on things. Especially when it comes to Rodney's ideas. I could see the fire burning behind his hazel eyes. He was hoping I would back down and support him, but that was not going to happen. I loved to defy him, as it brought out the best trait in him out. Lust.

"Well," I said, scooting around him. I purposely brushed up against him as the skin of his hand brushed my arm. His skin felt blistering hot where we had touched. "Rodney has a fair point. If they really aren't technologically advanced then they have no need of it." I leaned against one of the consoles. "And if they ever do become that advanced, they should be able to form their own hyper drive system, thus negating the need of a Stargate."

"It still feels as if we're cutting them off somehow." Teyla added in. I faced her.

"In a way yes, it could also reduce the rate of a Wraith attack. If their planet is only accessible through the Stargate then we could potentially stop them from having to go through the culling's."

I could see the group mulling over what I was telling them, and after a few seconds I could see that my explanation may have just persuaded them that little bit more. I gave Rodney a side-glance and a wink, letting him know that we had won them over. Turning on my heel I waved at them and then headed back down the stairs and out of the control room. I had said my piece; I would let them all figure out what do next. As for me, the next thing on my list was to have a shower and get rid of all this sweat.

* * *

Once I had showered I changed into my shorts and tank top in the bathroom. I gave my damp hair a quick brush and rubbed some deodorant on. I folded up my towels and hung them on the rack to dry and then exited my bathroom. Steam followed me out as I set my eyes on my laptop on my desk.

That was until a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a hard body. A body I was very familiar with. I grinned cheekily as I felt warm kisses along the length of my neck.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here," I muttered breathlessly. John's hands skimmed over my stomach and then down my thighs. I felt my body tense up as his fingers trailed back up, moving towards the junction of my thighs. He barely grazed it, which made me groan in frustration.

John nipped my ear playfully. "You just love to defy me, don't you?"

I bit my bottom lip, grinning. I suddenly pulled away from him, my body growing cold at the lost contact. I stepped away and spun on my heel to face him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Spinning back around I headed for my desk. John gripped my arm and jerked me back to him, pulling me against his body as I met his intense gaze. Between us, poking just above the space between my legs I could feel his arousal, begging to be released.

"You knew what you were doing in the control room." John dipped his head to my neck and began to kiss my skin there. I felt my eyes roll slightly from the contact as his hand crept down once again. This time his one long finger skimmed over my clit. I felt my knees buckle slightly but I caught myself on his arms. I wasn't ready to give myself up just yet; I wanted to torture him for a little bit longer. So, with every ounce of strength I could muster, I pushed off him yet again and turned to sit down at my desk.

"I really do have to get this report done for Rodney about today's findings," I said as I flicked my hair over my collar. I looked over my shoulder at John, and I wish I hadn't. He was currently removing his shirt and tossing it to the side of the room. I felt all thoughts leave me for a brief second before I turned back around to my laptop. "I'd hate for Rodney to _punish_ me for being tardy." I had purred the word tardy in hopes it would elicit a reaction from him.

And it certainly worked. In the next second my laptops screen was slammed closed and I was spun to the right in the chair. John towered over me, bare chested and a heated look on his face. His pants were already half unbuckled; the only thing holding them up was the zipper. The pure lust in his hazel eyes excited me.

"You can't run anywhere now." He growled.

I smirked. I stood up suddenly and with my foot I kicked the chair away. I heard it clash against the back wall as I drew my finger down his chest. "Who says I'm running away?"

John returned my smirk. I leant up and pressed a hard kiss against his lips, but before he could hold me I pulled away and dropped to my knees. I saw the look of surprise and anticipation cross his face as I braced my hands on his hips and leant into his crotch area and secured my teeth around the zipper of his pants. I held his gaze as I drew the zipper down, bypassing his erection as it bulged out against his boxers. John sucked in a breath of air that sounded agonizing. Once the zipper was down I shimmied his pants and boxers down together so they pooled around his ankles. His manhood was staring me dead in the face as John stepped out of his pants.

"Mia, you're—"

His words were cut off suddenly as I held him with one hand then placed my mouth around his head. He let out a groan as his hands suddenly found their way to my hair as he gripped onto me tightly as I continued to suck him. I pulled back after a while, taking in a breath as John groaned once more. I grinned up at him as he took my hands and tugged me up and to him. I fell into his arms as he kissed me hungrily on the mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he turned us around and then pushed me back so I fell onto the bed. I bounced and giggled as John made quick work of pulling my top off and then discarding my shorts and knickers. I lay under his lust filled gaze as he knelt down onto the floor and spread my legs open with the palms of his hands.

I cried out in pleasure when I felt him start to kiss my clit, his tongue licking up and down, I cried out again when I felt a finger get added into the mix. I clenched at the sheets with my fists as I arched my back off the bed and writhed against him. His hands kept my legs parted; no matter how hard I tried to wriggle around he kept me locked down. He rubbed my clit with his fingers and then gave it one last kiss before leaning over me and climbing onto the bed.

I pulled him to me as I kissed his wet mouth. I wrapped one leg around his waist as one of his hands went under my hips to lift angle me up. And then I felt a hard thrust and suddenly he was inside me.

I cried out as he did. I saw stars for a moment as I dug my fingers into the bare skin of his shoulders. He pumped in and out; each time was harder and faster. His own fingers digging into the flesh of my hips as I met his thrusts with my own. John angled his hips another way, causing a wave of euphoria to wash over me as I moaned loudly. I tossed my head back against the bed, my neck exposed as he started to nip at my skin there. I could feel the sweat from his body start to accumulate as I dragged my nails down his shoulder blades.

"Fuck!" I screamed as I was suddenly hit with an orgasm. I rode it out, John not done yet as I clung to his body. My lower body tightened as I could hear John grunting and moaning in my ear as he was almost at his own climax.

His thrusts become more forceful and he gripped my hips with both hands as he leant back onto his legs instead of bending over as he pumped into me. At this point I didn't know my own name, I was just riding out this feeling as another orgasm hit me at the same time John moaned my name and climaxed as well. He gave a few extra thrusts, my head jolting from the force of them as he breathed out harshly and toppled on top of me.

I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into the crook of his neck. We breathed in sync, our chests heaving and our lower bodies still connected. It was probably a minute later when John suddenly jerked up.

"Am I crushing you?" he asked, his eyes flicking down to my abdomen. I shook my head and kissed him gently.

"No. You're fine."

Even so, he removed himself from me with a low groan and rolled over onto his side as I curled up beside him, my back to his chest. His arms curled around me as we lay together. Soon, his breathing deepened and I knew he had fallen asleep. I sat up and managed to wiggle my blanket out from under our bodies as I tossed it over us. I lay on my back as I turned my head to stare at him. My heart ached when I looked at him; I just loved him so much. I couldn't believe that even through everything, we were still together and stronger than ever. I just couldn't believe he was mine, this perfect man in muddy combat boots.

I traced my fingers over his stubble and then up over his nose and through his hair. John sighed in his sleep, a smile coming over his face as his hand came to rest atop my stomach. He was still asleep but subconsciously holding me securely. I pressed a light kiss to his lips. "We love you, John Sheppard, forever and always. You'll be the best dad anyone's ever know."

With my declaration, I snuggled under his chin, getting myself comfortable as I fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **So my first smut in a loooooong long time. Seriously I can't remember the last time I wrote a mature scene with these two. I hope I did you all proud and you enjoyed it. Again sorry for my long absence, I've also been working on some rough drafts of some new stories as it helps me to sometimes work on something else before coming back to this one. Just curious, i have a story in the Vampire Diaries fandom in the works and also a Star Wars one. I wouldn't post them until nearly half of it's written but would anyone be curious about them? The TVD one would be Damon/Oc and Star wars is Obi-Wan/oc cause you know, i love my oc's xD or you know, just be like biiiiitch no finish this one first xd criticism is welcome**

 **love you all xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 6_

* * *

" _Achoo_!"

I jumped, grimacing over at John who was wiping his nose on a tissue. I was currently sitting at my desk in my lab, going over a few documents on the reports I had made about the new Ancient systems.

"You really should have Carson check you out." I told John as I reached for my cup of coffee.

"It's just a cold." He said. I could hear how blocked his nose was from the sound of his voice. He gave his nose another blow and then chucked the tissue into the bin. He sauntered over to me and tapped my mug of coffee lightly. "And you shouldn't be drinking so much of the stuff."

I snatched the cup away from him. "I need it."

John smirked. "Don't get grouchy at me."

I frowned threateningly up at him. "Yeah, well it's your fault as your cough has been keeping me up at night."

"And I already apologized for that!" John argued. He moved around me slightly so that he was behind me as he placed his hands onto my shoulders. He started to give me a much-needed massage. "How can I make it up to you?"

I sighed and took another drink of my coffee. "By letting me get a good nights sleep?" John continued to knead the knots out of my shoulders. Honestly, I could've fallen asleep right then and there. Not only had John been keeping me up with his incessant coughing and sniffling during the night, our little spawn was working my body into overdrive. I would be exhausted one minute and then hit with boundless energy. I had spoken to Carson about it a few days ago, and he said that it should start to settle down within a few more weeks.

"Well, we're leaving on a hunt for more space gates in an hour. No idea how long I'll be gone so maybe you'll have the bed to yourself for tonight."

"Here's hoping." I muttered under my breath. John did an overdramatic gasp as he suddenly wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me back against his chest.

"You wound me, Sumner."

I reached up with my hand and flicked him on the nose. "Wouldn't be the first time." John crinkled his nose up at me; he then leaned down and kissed me hard on the mouth. I felt my insides turn to mush at the contact. I was glad that my feelings for John hadn't changed, seeing as everything else in my life was. Even my own damn body was changing. It was like overnight my boobs had grown two sizes—not that John was complaining. He couldn't stop staring at them…such a man. But even if everything around me was shifting in new directions, I was happy that we still both felt so strongly for one another.

John pulled away and pretended to gag. "Ugh, coffee breath!"

I looked at him, aghast as I pulled away and smacked him hard on the chest. "You're so bloody rude, John Sheppard!"

John laughed at me. He suddenly turned his face away from me and sneezed loudly. I rolled my eyes at him. Carson would probably be able to give him something to help speed up his recovery process—but do you think he would go? Absolutely not—he was such a typical male.

The door to my lab opened up and Teyla walked in. The Athosian woman was dressed in her uniform and smiled at the both of us. John still had his hands on my shoulders as she came up to the table.

"We're about ready to gear up, Colonel. How are you feeling today, Mia?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Tired, hungry. Once you guys are gone I might mosey on down to the mess hall and grab breakfast."

"You already had breakfast." John pointed out with a snort.

I pouted. "Yes, well, I'm eating for two so I can eat as much as I want. Got a problem with that?" I snapped up at my annoying boyfriend.

John pecked me on the cheek. "You do whatever you want."

"Thank you." I said tightly with a nod. I glanced over at Teyla to see the woman holding in her smile at the pair of us. She motioned for her and John to head out as I felt John give my shoulders a little squeeze as he moved away from me and towards the door.

I was a little offended that he wasn't saying goodbye to me. Not like he wasn't going to see me for a whole day or anything. I watched as John got to the door of the lab with Teyla before he suddenly spun around. "Oh, almost forgot!" He said cheerfully.

I smirked, giving him a 'damn-straight-you-forgot-something' look. He hurried back over to me, a grin on his face. He leaned on the desk; his face inches from mine before he snatched up my coffee mug and drank the rest of it.

My jaw dropped. He pulled away, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Couldn't forget the good cup of joe."

John was skipping out of my reach before I could physically harm him. "You're an asshole, you know that?" I told him, crossing my arms grumpily.

"You love me for it." John called out over his shoulder. It took all my willpower to not laugh at him. I watched as Teyla gave him a scolding, mothering look as he shrugged innocently at her. Then they left together. I sighed and allowed the grin to spread over my face. I truly did love that asshole of a man.

* * *

I spent my morning (after getting a second breakfast of course) going over the Ancient system that Rodney had dumped on me. I was sat on the floor, my tablet hooked up to the underside of the console as I tried to decipher the readings on my screen. My Ancient was all right, but I still had to cross-reference with my 'cheat sheet' that Rodney called it. And even then, I was still having a hard time understanding what this machine was supposed to do.

When I next looked at my watch, I was surprised to see that it was already early afternoon. I gathered up my tablet and decided that I would go in search of Rodney, or Zelenka if Rodney was still off world. It was annoying that I was having to go to them for help but I felt like if one of them went over my notes maybe they'd be able to clarify what I was reading.

The walk to the control room was peaceful. I passed a few people I recognized, as they gave me pleasant smiles and gentle nods of acknowledgement. I knew that I was the talk of the base. People were wondering why I had been taken off active duty and put on as a full-time mechanical engineer now. None had actually come up and asked me about it, for which I was thankful. But I knew there were whispers. I just chose to ignore them. If someone did come up and ask me, I'd tell them that my military contract was up, which was the truth really. I also kept the habit of keeping my jacket on while I was in public areas. At ten weeks I wasn't showing a whole lot, but there was a noticeable little bump at the lower part of my stomach, something that would be obvious if I just wore my shirt tucked into my pants. Then again, it could just be passed off as me eating a humungous lunch.

I jogged up the control room stairs and could hear familiar voices at the top, which made me smile. Rodney, Zelenka and John were standing around a plasma screen pointing at a few things in front of them. I approached them, John spotted me first as he moved over slightly so that I could fit in between him and Zelenka.

"I thought you were gonna be gone the whole day?" I asked John.

"Change of plans." John said. "The planet we visited had a very—over welcoming host." He spoke cryptically, making me frown over at him.

"Creepy and pushy more like it." Rodney added.

"Sounds fun." I muttered.

"Oh, it was." John said, smirking over at me. "He even asked Teyla to be his next wife."

"Come again?" I scoffed at them.

"Yeah, so we hightailed it out of there as quickly as we could." Rodney continued. "We sent Beckett back to check over this guys medicines and such, he was boasting about how he could cure the Colonel's cold in six or seven days."

I raised my eyebrows and smirked over at John who looked completely unimpressed. "Wow, I'm shocked you guys didn't invite him back for dinner. He sounds like a lovely person." I said sarcastically.

"Trust me." John drawled. "If you were there, you would've beaten him up if he tried to look at you the way he was ogling Teyla."

"I'm surprised she didn't." Rodney muttered awkwardly.

John chuckled. "That's because Teyla has a little bit more self-restraint then our resident firecracker."

I pointed my finger at John. "I resent that statement. I have plenty of self-control, thank you."

"Name one time you haven't threatened, maimed or shouted at someone if they annoyed you?" John challenged me.

I gestured over at Rodney. "Yesterday. Mess hall. Rodney ate the last of the blue jello cups when he _knew_ that I was about to head down there for that exact thing."

"Oh, shut up." Rodney snapped. "You know full well that those are my favorite flavor."

"Mine too." I retorted with a glare. "You were just lucky that there was chocolate ice cream left over." I rounded back on John. "See? I have restraint."

John rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm very proud of you."

"How did the scout go?" Elizabeth appeared from the stairs as she approached the four of us. John coughed into his elbow before answering her.

"Well, we found an unused gate in orbit over M3R-428."

Rodney rolled his head and sighed in defeat. "One lousy gate. We're never going to meet our quota at this rate."

"What quota?" John asked him, baffled.

" _My_ quota." Rodney stated. I snorted and gave a roll of my eyes towards him.

"The Daedalus is still under repair anyway, Rodney. We wont be able to harvest gates until it can fly." John stated to him. He turned his gaze towards Elizabeth. "Did Beckett bring back anything worth anything?"

"No, he hasn't returned yet." She replied hesitantly. "He radioed in earlier, said he'd like to stay a little longer. Apparently he's found something of interest."

John and Rodney gave each other long looks. They obviously didn't think that there was anything worthwhile with this man. I chuckled under my breath at them. I then realized why I had come up to the control room in the first place. "Oh, Doctor Weir! If you have a spare minute I was hoping you'd be able to help me with some Ancient translations that I'm having trouble with?"

Elizabeth gave me a bright smile. "Of course. We can go ahead and talk in my office?"

I nodded as Elizabeth headed off towards the catwalk. I went to follow her when Rodney ducked in front of me. "Is this about one of those Ancient consoles I gave you? Need me to check over some work?"

I patted Rodney on the shoulder. "That's so kind of you, Rodney, but I'd hate to drag you away from your _ever_ busy gate harvesting quota." His expression quickly changed to a deadpan. I spun around to Zelenka. "Radek, if you're not busy I would love to have another pair of eyes run over my notes?"

Zelenka chuckled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "My pleasure. You have been saying how busy you are locating gates and planets, Rodney." Rodney pulled a face at us both as Zelenka shuffled over to me and we both headed off towards Elizabeth's office.

"So this is everything I've managed to translate so far." I said, placing the tablet in front of Elizabeth as Radek came around and peered over her shoulder. "From what I've been able to make out, it look's like it's some sort of console to scan brainwaves or something?"

Both Elizabeth and Radek looked deep in thought as they read over my notes. Elizabeth tapped on the screen with her pen to isolate the Ancient script. "It says here that 'placing those which connect, shall turn the tide of within.'" Elizabeth glanced up at me, a blank look on her face.

"Yeah." I said with a sigh. "It stumped me too. I don't know what it could mean. There's more text but the console was damaged, either from over ten thousand years, or the storm or flooding so it's been hard to try and isolate those specific texts. But I did manage to access the logs when it was last used and it has a recording of two different brain waves."

Zelenka gave a little 'hmm' and crossed his arms. "Could it be some form of medical scanner? We know the Ancients studied ascension, could it be that it was a way to monitor it?"

"That's a thought." Elizabeth agreed with him.

I nodded. "It's possible. We haven't come across a machine like that yet. I'll see if I can salvage more of the text and anymore of the logs. Thanks for lending me your brains." I said with a smile.

"That's good work, Mia." Elizabeth said to me as I slid the tablet out from her and back into my arms. Zelenka excused himself from the room, saying that he best get back to his work. "How are you finding working in a lab?" She asked me once he was gone.

"Slow." I admitted truthfully. "It's a change from the fire and brimstone that I'm used to, but it's growing on me."

"I'm glad," she said sincerely.

There was an awkward silence between us. Even though she had come to terms with John and I being together, and me being pregnant, there was still some residue tension. After all, we did lie to her for over a year. "I should get back to the lab. Rodney would never forgive me if I can't figure out this console before he got his intergalactic space gate thing up and running."

Elizabeth chuckled. "No, I don't think he would either." I gave her a short wave, spun on my heel and strode out of her office.

 **...**

I had my nose stuck to the tablet as I read over my notes once more. Now that Zelenka had given me the idea that the console could possibly be something that monitored the Ancient's as they tried to ascend, I was more determined then ever to try and figure out what it was supposed to do.

I wasn't aware of what corridor I was walking down, all I knew was that I was heading in the general direction of my lab when all of a sudden the tablet was pulled out of my hands. I gasped, thinking that I had dropped it when John fell into step beside me. He was holding the tablet, a grin on his face.

"Give it back, I'm working." I scolded him.

John tossed it between his hands. "You're always working now. You're turning into a female version of McKay."

I scoffed, horrified at the notion. "Don't be rude. I'm much better looking then him."

"That's true." John said, winking at me. I lunged for him, intent on snatching back my tablet but he held it out of my reach.

"Come on, John. I'm trying to figure out this stupid console. I'm close, I can feel it." I whined at him.

John tucked it under his arm and gave me a long look. "You've been obsessing over that stupid console for three days now. Why don't we head down to the mess hall and have dinner together for once?"

My eyebrow quirked in disbelief, "We're supposed to be keeping our distance still, remember?"

" _But,_ you aren't under my command anymore, so we can be seen a little more in public together." He was negotiating. All I wanted was my damn tablet back. I gave a heavy sigh.

"Fine. We'll go to dinner. But I want my tablet back afterwards."

"You have a deal, Miss Sumner." I gave him a very unimpressed eye roll that had him chuckling as we diverted and headed down to the mess hall.

Dinner was nice. It had been a while since we had both sat down together and eaten with one another. Most of the time John would be gone on missions, looking for space gates or I would be holed up in the lab or take dinner back to my room. I would never admit it out loud, but sometimes the stares I got from around the base really hit my self-esteem. I knew that people weren't talking badly about me; they were just trying to figure out why I wasn't part of the military anymore. Thanks to my little spawn, I was turning into a sensitive little girl who needed to be wrapped up in bubble wrap.

John and I sat at one of the tables in the far corner of the mess hall. We ate slowly. He was telling me more about the planet with the over friendly man and how he seriously doubted that they were ever going to find enough space gates to complete Rodney and Samantha Carters intergalactic space bridge.

John reluctantly asked me about the brainwave console as I filled him in on the advice that Elizabeth and Zelenka had given me. He tried telling me that it was a way for the Ancient's to brainwash someone. I had proceeded to throw a potato at him at that ridiculous comment.

Ronon and Lorne had stopped by to say hi. They had obviously come from the gym, having sparred with one another as Lorne was sporting a red cheek. Ronon looked untouched, as usual. They had both made remarks about how Ronon had no one to spar against now but I had given them both the finger. They knew that sparring and anything to do with action and adventure was a sore spot for me.

After dinner John and took a leisurely stroll back to his room. It felt different to be walking with him this way. Now, we really didn't have to worry too much about if someone saw us together. Neither of us were the type of people to openly flaunt a relationship, but it was nice to be able to walk with him and not have to look over my shoulder every couple of seconds.

* * *

John was passed out in the bed next to me. I was propped up with a few pillows, going over the data once more. I had managed to decipher another Ancient word in the text. 'Transfer.' I didn't know what it meant, or where it fit in with the other words, but at least it was something. John had fallen asleep a while ago. His breathing was heavy, mainly because of his blocked nose. I wasn't tired yet, thanks to our little bundle of joy, so I decided to go over my notes to hopefully make me tired. It worked, because eventually I soon found myself nodding off while still sitting up in bed.

I woke up when I felt John's hands around my back and knees as he dragged me down off the pillows so that I was laying flat on my back. The tablet was gone, resting on the bedside table. "You're such an overachiever." He muttered to me with a chuckle. I mumbled something so incoherent that I didn't even know what it was. I snuggled down into the covers as John enveloped me in his warm embrace. I rested my cheek against his bare chest and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

 **...**

John woke me up by launching himself out of the bed. I sat up in a panic, my mind racing as he quickly searched for his pants and shirt. "What's going on?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

"My radio was buzzing like a friggin alarm clock. Seems like Beckett brought back an unauthorized guest." He said, hopping on one foot as he pulled on his boot.

"What?" I muttered. My brain was trying to process what he was saying as I swung my torso around to look at the alarm clock. It read eight in the morning. Jesus, this had been the longest I had slept in for a long time. John laced up his second boot and then fetched his jacket from the back of his chair.

"It's fine. Elizabeth is furious though. I'm heading down to see what the hell is going on, you catch up on your sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice." I grumbled, flopping back down and pulling the covers up to my chin. John chuckled. I could hear his heavy footsteps as he approached me. He placed a quick kiss to my cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. I sighed in content.

"I'll see you later."

"Bring me back food." I muttered sleepily. I heard his chortle as he left his room.

* * *

I slept for a few more hours before I dragged myself out of bed, showered and headed to the mess hall for breakfast and then to my lab. I was snacking on a piece of toast when Rodney hurried around a corner ahead of me. He saw me out of the corner of his eyes, tripped over his feet and scrambled over to me.

"Did you hear about the nutcase that Beckett brought back?" He asked as he fell into step beside me. I shook my head, tearing off a piece of toast and munching on it.

"You mean he brought back the guy from the planet?" I asked him, my mouth full. "I thought you said that he was creepy and pushy?"

"He is. Which is why it's such a conundrum that Beckett brought him here."

I scoffed. "I bet Elizabeth was pissed off." We turned the corner. We approached the door to my lab as I waved my hand over the sensor.

"Furious. And that's not the only thing. Carson is acting like he sun shines out of the guys ass."

We entered the room as I set down my tablet and notes; Rodney leaned up against the silver desk looking giddy at the prospect. "Judging by your reaction I'm guessing this is a good thing?" I asked Rodney as I turned around and booted up one of the computers.

"Of course it's not." He replied with a scoff. "The guy is positively nuts, and the sooner Carson sees it the quicker I can tease him about how smitten he was with Lucius."

I chuckled at Rodney and finished my toast. I sat down and eventually let Rodney look over the notes I had on the Ancient console. For once he was just as confused as I was when it came to the thing, but he admitted that he couldn't stay and help me (oh the horror) and that he was scheduled to leave with John on another gate hunting scout. I bid him farewell and was glad to have him leave. Even though I could tolerate him most days, it was hard to stomach Rodney when I was no longer allowed to carry a sidearm for persuasive purposes.

* * *

I was working later then normal. Thankfully with John's absence from the base as he was currently on his hunt for space gates with Rodney I was free to work until I wanted. And that would probably be until he got back and forced me to return to the bedroom and sleep.

I had given myself a little break from my Ancient console and was going over data I had on the Wraith wreckage from our deceased hive ship. My project was to see if I could replicate Wraith DNA into the ship's code to make it 'restore' itself. I knew that the ships were grown, much like the Wraith were and if I could somehow access that 'growing' part of the ship then we might be able to figure out some more of their weaknesses. It was a long shot at best, and for me to get some Wraith DNA I either needed to have Teyla offer some up willingly or I needed to have a team hunt down a Wraith. I still hadn't plucked up the courage to ask Teyla yet as I knew she was still very sensitive about her Wraith heritage. She hated it when it was brought up, as it didn't give her very fond memories. Hell, I don't know how I would react if I knew I was like one tenths Wraith.

My lab door opening had my head shooting up in surprise. I expected it to be John, waltzing in here demanding that I get my butt out, but it was Carson. Followed closely by a man whom I didn't recognize but I assumed to be Lucius.

"And here she is!" Carson exclaimed happily. I could already tell there was something wrong with Carson, he was way to cheerful. "This is Mia, the woman who I was telling you about Lucius."

"My, my, my…" Lucius muttered. He stepped around Carson so that I could get a good look at him. He was more on the heavy side, wearing a beige shirt and brown cotton pants. His face was clean-shaven and he was staring to bald. "Carson you didn't mention that she was as gorgeous as this!"

My eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" Lucius moved around the desk so that he was approaching me. I jumped up from the chair, my eyes darting between Carson and Lucius.

"Oh yeah, she is definitely wife material. Your city is just filled with beautiful women, Carson!"

"I think the hell not." I barked at him. I set my glare onto Carson, who was looking at Lucius as if he was the most endearing thing in the world. "Carson, care to explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Carson sighed dreamily. "Well, Lucius here wanted to meet everyone on the base personally. He's such a charming guy, don't you think?"

I gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "I think you've slammed back one too many tequila's personally."

"Oh, so witty!" Lucius praised with a clap. "What's tequila?" he asked Carson. Carson opened up his mouth to explain when I cut him off.

"Carson! What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see that he's a creepy guy? He literally just said that I was 'wife material'."

Carson glowered over at me. "Lucius is not creepy! You take that back right now! He is a wonderful, smart, kind, charming, handsome, generous man and you should be honored that he would offer you an invitation to become his wife."

My jaw dropped. "Hono—wha— _are you insane_?" I spluttered and yelled at him.

"It is a great honor." Lucius reaffirmed with a smile.

I wanted to smack him, hell, both of them. I could see now what Rodney was on about…but I didn't think that Carson would be _this_ extreme. Just as I was about to take my leave before I inflicted physical harm on them the door to my lab opened once again. I had never been more thankful to see Ronon and Teyla in my entire life.

"Oh thank _God_!" I exclaimed as they both walked behind Lucius and Carson. "Please get them out of here. I don't think I can stomach crazy today." I told Teyla. Something strange happened next. Teyla and Ronon chuckled together, sharing a look with one another before Ronon clapped Lucius on the shoulder.

"Why ever would you want Lucius to leave, Mia?" Teyla asked me. Now I knew there was something seriously wrong.

"Yeah." Ronon added. "He's a great guy." Ronon smiled then as Lucius reached up and tapped Ronon's hand that was still on his shoulder. I wanted to scream, but I was also freaking out on the inside. Just who the fuck were these people? If anyone had ever tried to touch Ronon like that they would've been seeing the underside of his boot.

"Once you get to know me you'll see that I'm a really great guy." Lucius said with a charming smile. I wanted to run. I was freaked out by their behavior. This wasn't normal, none of it was.

"He's such a good guy." Carson echoed, a dreamy look on his face.

"The best." Teyla agreed, reaching out to caress Lucius' arm. I wanted to puke. Lucius approached me, his hands held up slightly in a non-threatening way.

"Look, Mia. Can I call you Mia? I think we got off on the wrong foot, I meant no disrespect to you." He said sincerely. "Why don't you join us all for dinner? We're about to head down there now."

I wanted to say hell no, but from the looks on my friends faces, I had a feeling that they weren't going to take no for an answer. And you know, dinner didn't sound _that_ bad…

* * *

 _my apologies for being so absent. time slipped away from me again. i just wanna thank you all for sticking around, reviewing and alerting this story even though it might take me a while to finish it. i hope you enjoyed this chapter, i've got next chapter/remaining episode mapped out already so hopefully it wont take me months to get out another one. bye my darlings and thank you again x_


	7. Chapter 7

**Breaking Ranks: Exodus**

 _Chapter 7_

* * *

John had no idea what he was walking into when he entered the mess hall with Rodney later that night. When they had returned to a virtually deserted control room, they both knew that something had to be up. Chuck had told them that everyone was down in the mess hall having dinner so that's where they had headed. Upon arrival all they could hear was a loud, flamboyant voice and then boisterous laughter. John peered around the corner, stepping further into the room with Rodney by his side.

Lucius was sitting on top of a table, his arms waving as he described his story. John spotted Elizabeth first. She was sitting to Lucius' left, her hand placed on his leg as she beamed up at him adoringly. Teyla was on his right, laughing as he said something to them all. Ronon was slightly behind Lucius, but had a beaming smile on his face—something that neither John nor Rodney had ever seen on the Satedans face.

John heard a familiar laugh as his eyes narrowed in on Mia's form sat between Zelenka and Beckett. Great, the one person who he thought would probably stay a hundred feet away from the creepy guy was apart of the group. John and Rodney shared a worrying look between them. They waited until Lucius had finished his story and announced that he was going to be heading to bed for the night. John knew that this was his chance to corner his friends and ask them what the hell was going on. He told Rodney to gather everyone in Elizabeth's office. The scientist had whined about the chore but a stern look from John had him trotting off to do what was asked of him.

John weaved through the crowd himself and went straight for Mia. She was gushing to Beckett about how detailed and engaging Lucius' story had been when John appeared at her side, gripping onto her upper arm.

"We gotta talk." He hissed to her. Mia flinched, caught by surprise at John's sudden appearance.

"John…you're back. Did you hear Lucius' story? It was amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah." John muttered. He did a quick scope of the room, seeing Rodney ushering Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon. John rounded on Carson. "Doc, McKay is looking for you."

"Oh, is he now? I should really go with Lucius to make sure that he gets to his room—"

"I think he's got it covered." John interrupted. Carson shrugged but then headed over to where Rodney was.

"What's going on?" Mia asked John, motioning to the way that he was still gripping onto her arm.

John tugged her gently in the opposite way to where the others were as they ducked through the other door and into the deserted corridor. He pulled her along until they reached a quiet area. "Are you feeling ok?" John asked Mia. He released her arm and faced her.

Mia gave him a perplexed look and patted herself down. "I guess so, why? What's the matter?"

"I just would've thought you would stay away from the creepy guy. Not listen in on one of his ridiculous stories."

Mia's expression changed, she looked appalled at him. "They are not ridiculous! He's a brilliant storyteller, and such a charming man. Why would I want to stay away from him?"

John dragged his hand down his face. "Dear god, _no_." He sighed and met her stern blue-eyed gaze. She was turning into the way Carson had been with him. "Have you been alone with him? Has he tried anything with you? He asked Teyla to be his seventh wife."

Mia grinned and clasped her hands together passionately. "I know! What an offer! He told me that I was beautiful a few times, something that I am incredibly grateful for. He did ask me if I was interested in sharing his bed but I had to respectfully decline and tell him that I am currently taken."

John was trying to hold it together. He was having a hard time processing what Mia was telling him. She was so nonchalant about the whole thing. Lucius had asked her to sleep with him and all she had done was politely decline! He knew there had to be something else going on because the Mia he knew would've decked a guy right in the nose if they ever tried that on her.

John took ahold of her arm again. He was not letting her near Lucius again. "Where are we going? Are we going to see Lucius?" Mia asked happily. Again, John knew that something wasn't right. Mia would never have let him drag her so easily along. She would always try to fight him off.

"Something like that…" John muttered. They were not seeing Lucius. No, John wanted to sock the guy for even speaking to Mia. He was going to make sure that Mia wouldn't have any contact with the man while he was still on this base.

They stopped outside Mia's room. John waved his hand over the sensor as the doors opened. "This isn't Lucius' room…" Mia whispered. John pulled her in and released her. Mia spun around, a metaphorical question mark over her head.

"Just stay put in here for now." John told her. He swung around to the door panel and pulled off the cover and yanked out all three crystals. The door sounded a little alarm as John jumped back into the corridor. The doors shut with a resonating thud and John released a little sigh of relief. Mia was safe, for now. Now he just had to figure out where everyone else's heads were.

* * *

John was pacing Rodney's office later that night. It was clear to both of them that everyone on the base have turned into complete wacko's about Lucius. Everyone was compromised so they only had themselves to reply on right now. Rodney had found a vial of liquid in Lucius' room and was currently analyzing what was in there, but it was going to take time.

"What did you do with Mia?" Rodney asked, looking up from his computer screen. John fished out the door crystals from his pocket and dropped them onto the table.

"Locked her in her room."

Rodney gave him a dry look. "You know even if you remove them she'll still be able to find a way out of there, right? Mia knows just as much as I do about these Ancient systems now."

"Yeah." John glared at the scientist. "Thanks for that." He growled sarcastically.

Rodney chuckled at him. "Hey, it's not my fault that you've got a hot girlfriend. I'd be jealous too if some over friendly guy was hitting on her."

"This is not about jealously, McKay!" John bellowed angrily. Rodney shrunk back slightly, realizing his mistake. "I am trying to protect Mia's dignity here. And who is also, need I remind you, carrying my kid so of course I don't want her near a slime-ball from some backwater hamlet!"

"Alright!" Rodney retorted. "Jeez." He rolled his eyes dramatically at John. "Look, there's not much we can do right now anyway. We've got to wait for these results so in the meantime I guess we just wait and see what happens." Rodney motioned for John to come around and look at something on the screen. "Here, I've accessed the cameras for the control room and Lucius' quarters again." He pointed over to a second monitor. "I've also got the internal sensors running from in here. You can keep an eye on Mia for when she breaks out of her room."

John's gaze scanned over the cameras. It seemed that Lucius was indeed in his room for the night; least he hadn't lied about that. The control room was practically empty as well. John scanned over the internal sensor monitor. Nearly all of the private quarters were occupied. Looks like Lucius also had the power of persuasion over everyone.

"Seems like we'll be ok for the night." John commented.

"Good, cause I'm really tired and I could totally use a shower and—"

"We're not leaving this room, Rodney." John ordered with a pointed glare at him.

Rodney groaned, slumping in his chair. "What? Come on, everyone's in their rooms, it'll be fine."

"We need to watch the camera's in case something _isn't fine_ , McKay." John snapped back.

Rodney pulled a face and hunched over on his desk, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "Whatever. But after this is all over, I want a day off—no, _two_ days off!"

"Keep it up and you aren't ever gonna come back to work."

* * *

John stormed back into Rodney's lab early the next day. He had gone up to the control room as he had seen Lucius with Zelenka and Elizabeth looking at screens and talking about something. He felt the need to go and check on what was going on up there. Before he had left he had made sure to check on the internal sensors. Mia was still locked in her room so at least it was one less thing to worry about.

In the control room, John had almost blown up at Elizabeth for what she had suggested. Now he was just livid and took to pacing back and forth in Rodney's lab once more.

"Elizabeth wants to send a team to check out a gate at a suspected Wraith outpost." He growled out loud. John's fists were clenched at his side in fury.

"What, is she nuts?" Rodney asked in disbelief.

"Everybody's nuts, Rodney. Haven't you noticed?" John replied.

"Right." Rodney muttered in agreement. The scientist sighed and he tried extracting more of the liquid from the vial.

John stopped his pacing and peered over at Rodney. "You need to figure out why without drawing too much attention."

Rodney sighed in frustration as he lowered the vial and pipette. "I'm working on it, but there's not enough of the liquid to work with. I need more."

John gave an exasperated sigh but clicked his fingers. "Ok, I'll go back to Lucius' village. I'm sure he keeps a stash there. I'll just grab some."

"What?" Rodney exclaimed. "You're leaving me here alone?"

"You said you need the liquid." John argued.

Rodney furrowed his brow. "Yeah, but this place is turning into a nuthouse!"

"Somebody's got to stay. Just keep away from the nuts." John told him as he started to back up. "And you've gotta disable the DHD as soon as I'm gone to prevent anybody from dialing out, out?"

Rodney sighed in resignation. "Fine." His eyes flicked over to the screens. "Oh, I forgot to say, Mia finally broke herself out of her room."

"What?" John barked out. He was almost out the door but hurried over to the monitors. "When did this happen?"

Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "While you were up in the control room. It just sort of slipped my mind…" Rodney avoided meeting John's pissed off stare that he could feel boring into the side of his head.

"Where is she now?" John inquired, his eyes scanning over the internal sensors. It would be completely useless, as the internal sensors wouldn't be able to tell them who was who.

Rodney pointed to a dot that was a few levels down from them. "That's her lab. And oh look, someone just entered." Rodney said flippantly. They watched as another little orange dot entered Mia's lab. "Three guesses on who that could be?" Rodney said smartly.

John made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat and swiftly smacked Rodney up the back of his head. Rodney flinched as John shook his head. "Keep working on that liquid, McKay. I'll be back soon!"

 **...**

John hurried as fast as he could down the three flights of stairs. He crossed the landing and pushed open the door to Mia's lab. He stumbled in, hearing Mia's laughter and then Lucius' loud bellow shortly after.

"And so this is the wreckage from a hive ship that we recently had in our possession. I've been running tests on it, trying to see what data I can extract from it." Mia explained. Their backs were to him. And John noted that Lucius was standing very, _very_ close to Mia. Lucius leant forwards to examine to scrap as he pulled back and looped his arm around Mia's shoulders.

"So fascinating, Mia!" He said proudly. "I'll tell you, not one of my six wives is as smart as you. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider my proposal?"

John wanted nothing more then to snap the arm right off of her shoulder. He cleared his throat loudly. "Excuse me." He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at Lucius and then over at Mia.

Mia looked a little flustered. But she smiled over at him. "Oh hi, John. Lucius was curious about the work I've been doing."

"I see that." John ground out through gritted teeth. He flicked his gaze over to Lucius once more. "Lucius, I'm gonna ask you nicely to please remove your arm from around Mia."

Mia waved her hand dismissively at him. "He doesn't mean anything by it!"

Lucius glanced between the two as a look of realization suddenly came over him. He stepped away from Mia as per John's request, his mouth dropped open. "Oh, _oh,_ so when you said that you were taken, Mia…"

John moved his hands from his hips to cross at his chest. "She meant she was taken." John reaffirmed with a huff. "So I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to make her into your eighth wife or however many you are up to now."

"John, don't be rude." Mia scolded him with a stern glare. She took a step towards him. It only made John seethe. Lucius was one hell of a guy.

"I'm not being rude, Mia. I'm just trying to set some boundaries with our new _friend_." He said the word 'friend' with a heavy amount of salt in his tone.

Lucius held one of his hand to his chest, his expression one of hurt as his head bounced back and forth between the pair. "Oh of course!" Lucius suddenly grabbed Mia's hand with both of his and patted it lightly. "I would never _ever_ dream of coming between a man and woman who are obviously devoted to one another." John was glaring at the hand that was currently holding Mia's. "I meant no offence, Sheppard."

The smile that Mia gave Lucius was beautiful and sincere. It was like she wholly believed that all the crap that was coming out of Lucius' mouth was accurate. John wanted nothing more then to shoot the man right in his di—

"See, John?" Mia interrupted his train of thought. "Lucius only means well for everyone here." She continued. Mia then turned to Lucius, reached up on her toes and planted a quick kiss to his cheek. "He's such a great guy."

John's hand was itching to grab his sidearm.

He held himself back, but he knew that he needed to get her out of there. "Alright, I've had enough. Mia, I need you to come with me. Right. Now."

"Why?" Mia scoffed. Lucius released her hand as Mia took a tentative step towards John.

"Because I said so." John said brusquely. He regarded her expression and knew that it wasn't enough for her to leave Lucius willingly. "I'm heading off-world and I want you to come with me."

Mia motioned between Lucius and her lab. "But I can't go, there's so much for Lucius to see and learn!"

"Mia." John said abruptly. She stopped her talking and stared for a moment. "I _need_ you to come with me." They held each other's stare for a few seconds. John knew that there was no way in hell that he was leaving this base without her. He would drag her kicking and screaming if he had to, but he would much rather not resort to that. He watched as Mia glanced between the two men, she looked conflicted. It took her some time, but eventually she gave a small nod. She rounded on Lucius.

"Lucius, I'm so sorry but I need to go with him."

"I understand." Lucius placed his hand atop her shoulders supportively. "The power of love is strong. I just hope you won't miss me too much while you're gone." He sighed dejectedly.

"I won't. I'll be back before you know it!" Mia said happily as she moved out of Lucius' reach and towards John. When she was close enough John latched onto her arm and pulled her beside him and marched her out of the room.

 **...**

"Do you think he'll be alright? He's more then welcome to have a look through all my notes and files about my research of course…I hope he doesn't get bored—although I'm sure Carson will find him soon enough."

Mia had been prattling on about Lucius for their entire walk to the jumper bay. John hadn't relinquished his grip on her, he was slightly afraid that if he did she might run back to Lucius. He had begun to drone out her chatter as he picked up a tactical vest and a sidearm for her. She may not be military, and John hated the idea of taking her off world while she was in this state (her state being batshit crazy and not pregnant). But he would much rather have her equipped with something to defend herself should she need it.

He marched into the jumper, settling her down in the co-pilot chair and tossed the vest to her. "Put that on." He ordered her. She complied.

"Where are we going? Can I tell Lucius about it later? You know he's only ever been to two other planets in his life? I'm sure he'd love to hear about where we're going."

"I'm sure he will too." John muttered ominously. Inwardly smirking. They were going to his village to steal the drink that he used so that hopefully they could put an end to the Stepford wives.

Mia shrugged on the tactical vest and then strapped on the sidearm to her leg. "You know, I didn't think I'd ever be wearing one of these again." Mia suddenly perked up as John was lowering the jumper down into the control room. "Oh, I never told Lucius about the baby! Do you think he'll be excited for us?"

John had never wanted to use a stunner so much in his entire life.

* * *

They came soaring out of the Stargate and flying over the landscape. Mia was on the edge of her seat as her eyes scanned over the lush green hills. A smile spread across her fac. "I missed this." She whispered more to herself then John, but he still heard her anyway. He shifted his gaze over to her, watching as her eyes were lit up in wonder and awe. He had missed seeing her in the co pilot seat too. It had been strange, on their first mission off world without her. He didn't realize how normal it had been for her to be on the team, to hear her voice shouting at him when he did something reckless. It was a wonderful moment to see.

"I wish Lucius was here to experience this."

And the moment was gone…

 **...**

John and Mia walked into the village square together. Mia was craning her head around at every chance she got; she was obviously trying to take everything in before she would be locked up back on Atlantis again. John was a bit more hesitant. He could tell that this was definitely not the same village that he had come to a few days ago. The villagers were all wearing grey cloaks, covering up the previous vibrant clothes. Everyone looked unwell, hunched in on themselves.

"Lucius came from here?" Mia hissed under her breath to John. "No wonder he wanted to leave…"

John ignored her. The wheels in his head turning as he tried to make sense of it all. The villagers had to be acting this way because Lucius had left them. It was the only explanation. John spotted a woman who was one of Lucius' wives.

"Willa." He said to her.

Willa turned at the sound of her name. She spotted John and looked relieved. "Sheppard. Sheppard!" She called out to the other villagers around her.

John and Mia approached her, John peering around at everyone who looked unwell. "Are you alright?"

"Where is he?" Willa asked hurriedly.

"Lucius?" John guessed from her worried tone of voice.

Willa between them with pleading eyes, "Did you take him? Of course if you did, we're not angry."

"He came to my planet on his own." John explained to her.

Another woman approached them. John recognized her as another one of Lucius' wives. "Please send him back. It hurts us to be away from him for so long."

John frowned, slowly; the pieces of the puzzle were coming together for him. "Have you always felt this way about him?"

Willa shook her head. "No, but one day, as he returned from trading his wares with a distant people, he told me a story—a wonderful, wise, sweet story about something he accidently stepped in."

"And from that day forward." His other wife continued. "We saw him for the wonderful man he truly is."

"And before that?" John asked them.

"I am ashamed to admit that I refused to share his bed more than once." Willa said, bowing her head in remorse. "And since he has gone, everyone is growing sick. It has only gotten worse."

John did a quick take of Mia. She was listening intently to the story. John understood now. He wanted to pummel Lucius into a puddle, how dare he do this to these innocent people. Lucius knew what he was doing to everyone on base. He was a horrible man. Although, there was a part of him that was very keen to see what Mia would do to him once she snapped out of this. It would be satisfying to see her take him down.

John turned back to Willa. "Have you seen him drink from a—a liquid from a small vial?"

"His daily medicine."

"Does he need more?" The other wife cried out. "I could bring it to him."

"We both can." Willa added hopefully.

"I can handle it." John reassured them.

* * *

With the 'medicine' in hand, John and Mia marched out of the village and back towards the jumper. John noticed that Mia was unusually quiet. Just before they reached the jumper John stopped walking and halted Mia with a small tug on her sleeve.

"Mia, do you understand what's happening to you?" He asked her.

Mia frowned at him. "I don't know. I feel…kinda empty…like I need to go and talk to Lucius. I need to be around him again."

John held up the clear vial. "No, Mia, it's because of this. Lucius is drinking this stuff and it's turning everyone into his own little mafia."

Mia shook her head at him. "You're wrong. He's a lovely man, we all just love being in his presence."

John wanted to rip his hair out. This was infuriating! "Come on, Mia. Can't you see what he's doing to you? Just listen to yourself! He tried to convince you to be another one of his wives and you didn't even kick him in the shin, don't you think that's a little out of character for you?"

Mia looked up at him, confused but trying to think it through. She rubbed at her temple briefly. "I mean…it's not ideal…but he wasn't rude about it or anything…"

"Think back to the village, Mia." John told her as he grabbed onto her arms. "You saw what all those people looked like because Lucius had left them. When he was here, they were acting just like you and everyone else on the base. He is drinking this stuff to make himself more likable."

"He wouldn't do that…would he?" Mia asked, hurt flashing across her face.

John was relieved, because he was seeing a change in her. She was questioning Lucius now. Before, Lucius could do no wrong in her eyes, but it seemed that even just this short time away from him was allowing the effects to dissipate. He needed to keep her away from him for a little bit longer; maybe then she might be able to think clearly once more.

Hopefully the withdrawal wouldn't be as bad as the villagers, considering Mia had only been exposed for just under a day. Maybe that was why it was wearing off quickly too?

"When we get back to Atlantis, I'll prove it to you. Do you trust me?"

Mia didn't hesitate as she nodded, "yes, of course."

They arrived back on Atlantis after spending just over another hour on Lucius' planet. John wanted to give Mia any help that he could with getting her over the effects. She had started to fidget in her seat and gnaw at her bottom lip. John hit his radio. "Rodney, come in, it's Sheppard." He waited for a reply. He tried hailing Rodney one more time but was again met with nothing but static. John smacked the jumper lightly.

"Dammit." He hissed. John's gaze cut over to Mia who was holding her head in her hands. "Are you alright?" He asked, reaching out to rub her shoulder.

Mia took in a deep breath and lifted her head. "I dunno. I feel just…really…sad. I don't feel like myself."

"You've been away from Lucius for a while, so the effects are wearing off." He explained as calmly as he could. The last thing he needed was her to freak out and go running back to Lucius. His mind drifted to the baby, he was hoping that whatever was going on wouldn't hurt his baby in the long run. If it did, there would be nowhere for Lucius to hide from him and his gun.

"Do you still trust me?" John asked her again.

Mia looked over at him. "Of course I do."

John handed her the vial. "Take this. Go to Rodney's lab. Don't talk to anyone. Run if you have to. I'm gonna go and see what happened to him but I have a sneaking suspicion that Lucius may have gotten to him as well."

Mia nodded. She tucked the vial into her pocket and tapped it lightly, making sure it was still there. "Should we tell Lucius that…" Mia trailed off, realizing what she had just said. She furrowed her brow. John studied her expression for a fleeting moment; it was like she was finally coming to her senses. She couldn't understand why she would need to go and seek out Lucius. To John, that was the best news he had heard all day. Mia met his gaze and gave a determined nod. With that, they split up and went their separate ways.

* * *

"It's alright, Carson, we were all under the effects of his potion." I told the good Doctor as he read over my blood chart. We were all better, thankfully. It had been a torturous few days with Lucius around base. Luckily, John had managed to save the day by kidnapping Carson and keeping him away from Lucius long enough for him to become clear headed again. With that, he was able to create a serum that neutralized the effect of the herb on all of us.

"Yes, but, it's still mighty embarrassing." Carson admitted as he clicked on the screen on his tablet. I smirked up at him. Carson sighed but gave me a smile. "Looks like everything is ok with you and the baby. The herb was natural and you never ingested any of the potion into your body so I'd say that you're free to go."

"Great," I said with a smile. "Because I'm late for a date with the punching bag." The look Carson gave me had me chuckling. "I'm kidding, Carson. I feel like we've all deserved a few days off to forget about this whole thing."

"Agreed." He muttered.

"Has everyone been given the serum?" I asked him as I hopped off the bed.

"Aye, just about. Although, I'll feel a lot better once Lucius is out of the city for good."

"He should be leaving any minute now." I commented. That reminded me, this was one send off that I really wanted to see. "And hey, if anyone should be feeling embarrassed it will be me. I'm the one that almost said yes to becoming one of his new wives."

Carson chuckled nervously. "I bet Colonel Sheppard just _loved_ hearing about that."

I grimaced. "I'm sure that once the seriousness of it all blows over he's gonna love teasing me about it for years to come."

"I can see that happening, love."

"So can I. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mia." Carson gave me a tiny wave as I spun on my heel and left the infirmary in good spirits.

 **...**

I headed to the control room. I was dying to see this send off, as I knew everyone on base was. I arrived just as John and Ronon were marching him towards the gate. Teyla and Rodney were following behind with sour looks on their faces.

"Glad I'm here to witness this." I said cheerfully as I walked up the small ramp. They all glanced over at me, I saw Lucius' face light up when he saw me.

"Mia! You've come to say goodbye to me?"

I nodded with a smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." I approached him confidently. John and Ronon took a step back from him.

Lucius chuckled. His hands were bound behind his back with cable ties but his eyes were free to roam all over me. It had my blood boiling but I had it under control for the moment.

"You really are a stunning woman. It's a shame you never became my wife."

I laughed sweetly. "Oh, Lucius." I took another step to him so that I was within arms reach of him. My eyes quickly glanced up at Elizabeth who was standing on the balcony, watching me. I regarded her with a quick wink and looked back down at Lucius who, had been staring at my boobs, the pervert.

"Do you know what's so great about not being in the military anymore?" I asked him.

Lucius looked mildly bewildered but looked excited at what I had to see. I ground my teeth together and dropped my happy expression into one of malice as I braced my hands on Lucius' shoulder and brought my knee up and right into his groin. The man spluttered, yelping and hunching over in pain as I took a step back.

"I can do that with no repercussions." I glowered down at Lucius as he gasped for breath and lifted his head to meet my furious glare. "If I _ever_ see you again. I will end you, understand?"

"…Perfectly."

* * *

 _howdy my lovelies. what's this another chapter and it hasn't even been a week yet aha! Thanks for always sticking with me, of course, I cried like a lil baby again when I saw all your familiar names pop up in the reviews. I was just on such a good high from writing the last chapter that I wanted to work on the next one. Although, I did rush the ending there because even though i actually loved watching the episode, it was really hard to write xD_

 _Buuuuuut i am stoked as next episode is Sateda and I have a big plan for it. one of my fave episodes ever and i've had an idea for this episode since before i even started writing this story. in fact i think its one of the episodes that made me come up with the character of mia. ahh nostalgia._

 _Anyway, I didn't reply to reviews last time as I thought it was a bit redundant because I had been away for so long. but i'll reply this time!_

 _REPLIES_

 _GoldenGod48 - Thanks for appearing again! Yeah I didnt reply last time-too much time went by but i do appreciate it so much! and no, she wasn't immune, I couldn't see a reason for her to be but it meant that i could write this chapter in johns pov which I enjoyed!_

 _Julka212 - baaaabe i squealed when i saw your name. i was like yessssss she's not gone! i will always hold onto this story, even if the early chapters from book 1 make me cringe so hard hahaah xD ive been ok, just in a funk here and now. i actually loved this episode, i found it so hilarious but yes lucius is a nasty piece of work. i thought id be able to go into a bit more with the scenes but i found myself hitting blocks with them so i was like fk it time skip to the end where mia kicks him in the dick. gotta say writing in johns pov was a treat xD thank youuuu, love you!_

 _Guest - thank you!_

 _JeaneneP - Thank you! Mia kicked him in the nuts so its all good hahah_

 _Adela - Thank you!_

 _paramakai66 - aw yay im so glad! I was so excited to see all familiar names pop up again, made me shed a lil tear. this episode is honestly down right hilarious and i love it. i couldnt pass up the opportunity to make mia into a sheep just once xD_

 _Thank you everyone for coming back and reading, and any new people hello and welcome. i don't bite, but mia might! See you next time! xx_


	8. Chapter 8

**Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 8_

* * *

"Don't let your guard down!" I yelled at the Marine, bouncing on the edge of my seat. Ronon swung his arm, trying to grab the Marine in a headlock. The Marine, a Sergeant Ben Phillips, ducked just in the nick of time and put some space in between himself and Ronon. Ben lifted his guard once more, and bounced on his toes around Ronon.

"Remember," I called out to him. "Ronon has the power in this fight. Keep your speed up and make small hits to him, don't go for the lunges as that's how he'll get you!"

There were a few other Marines in the gym, waiting in line to fight Ronon and have advice given to them by me. It was a new training I was starting up. I had been doing a daily run with Ronon when a few young Marines had passed us and asked for tips on some better fighting techniques. Ronon had been all too eager to help. I missed being able to do it myself, but watching some poor unfortunate souls get beat up was somehow therapeutic for me.

Ben made a quick jab for Ronon for his face but the Satedan was too fast to get hit by such a slow move. Ronon hit back, knocking Ben in the shoulder as the Sergeant stumbled. Ronon lunged, grappling Ben, picking him up and throwing him down on the mat.

The group around me let out a collective 'ow' as they watched Ben's eyes roll around his head. Ronon got to his feet, a smug smirk on his face. He glanced over at me as I shook my head at him. There was no way that someone would ever come close to beating him in a spar. I could hold my ground against him, but even then I had never actually won a fight against him.

"Whose next?" Ronon grinned over at the line of Marines. A few of them stepped back nervously as I tried to hide the smile on my face.

"I'll try." A voice called out. I swung my head around to the male who had spoken, and to my utter surprise it was Nathan Fields. The man who I had periodically dated when John and I had broke up last year. We had sort of ended on good terms, but even so I had used him to make John jealous. Even now I still felt guilty about it. His blonde hair had grown out a bit since I had last seen him, and his murky green eyes were full of mirth as he approached Ronon and I.

"Nathan…" I said in shock. "I thought you transferred back to Earth?" I asked him. It was true, last year—a few months after I had split with him and recovered from my whole kidnapping debacle Nathan had put in a transfer to go back to Earth. I hadn't seen or heard from him since then.

"I did." He nodded a greeting to Ronon who stood stoically at my side. "But, they needed a few more extra hands around here so I'd thought I'd come back. Hey, Ronon, you look a lot less scary then the last time I saw you." He joked. Ronon made a grunting noise towards him.

"You gotten any better?" Ronon grumbled out.

Nathan chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Probably not, but I need to get back on top of my game if I'm gonna be fighting the Wraith again."

I took a step back, allowing the two men to walk into the middle of the room as they began to fight. The younger Marine's crowded around them, hoping to get a good look and maybe pick up some pointers on how to beat Ronon.

I was mildly surprised that Nathan was holding his own against Ronon, there weren't many people on base that could. Ronon got a good punch on Nathan's cheek, which had him stumbling back a few steps. Ronon saw the opening and jumped him, but Nathan recovered quickly and blocked the attack. Nathan shot out with his foot and hit Ronon in the side of his leg. The Satedan buckled for a moment, lowering him down slightly as Nathan threw all of his weight into a punch that socked Ronon right in the eye.

I grimaced. I heard the Marine's around me let out a few well-placed 'oof's' at the sight of it. Ronon looked like he was having the time of his life with this fight. I hadn't seen him grin like that in a long time. And when had Nathan become such a badass?

It was over a little while later. Nathan conceded as Ronon had him pinned on the mat with a hand around his throat. Ronon extended his hand to him and hauled Nathan to his feet. Ronon was already sporting a black eye from Nathan's punch and the Sergeant himself had a split lip and redness around his cheek.

The Marine's dispersed, sad that the fight was over. They were chatting to each other about the new moves that they had seen. Nathan walked over to me, rubbing his cheek. Ronon sent me a quick wave over his shoulder and left the gym.

"So, you guys are on better terms now then." Nathan stated as he ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. He was referring to the fact that when he had been here last, I practically hated Ronon's guts. Now, Ronon and I were close.

"Yeah, we are." I replied with a smile.

We left the gym together. Neither of us had a destination in mind as we walked through the halls. It felt a little awkward, seeing as this was the man that had confessed his love to me while I had been confused about my own feelings with John. And then immediately after that I had been kidnapped by my best friend and held captive for six weeks.

"Do you wanna head to the infirmary? Carson has like a dozen spare icepacks." I joked, glancing over at him.

Nathan sniggered. "Nah, I'll be ok."

We relaxed into a comfortable silence. Nathan looked over at me. "So how are you doing?" He asked.

"Me?" I met his gaze. "I'm doing fine, how about you?"

Nathan looked away bashfully. "Oh yeah, I'm good too." He perked up and rounded on me again. "So I heard you aren't apart of the military anymore."

I stretched out my arms in front of myself and cracked my knuckles. "Yeah, my contract was up and I didn't decide to resign it. They're keeping me on as a Mechanical Engineer. Rodney even gave me my own lab to work in." I said playfully.

"Sounds like fun." Nathan said with a smile. He suddenly stopped walking and pulled on my arm gently, stopping me also. "Hey—um, I just want you to know…I don't have any hard feelings or whatever."

I sighed. "Well, that's a relief." I pretended to wipe the sweat from my brow. "I really am sorry for what happened though." I said sincerely.

"It's fine, Mia." Nathan waved it off. "I'm actually seeing someone now, she's back on Earth though."

"That's great." I said happily. "So it's long distance for a while then?"

Nathan nodded. "Just for the next six months. She's in the Air Force so we both know all these classified protocols and everything."

I reached out and grasped Nathan's arm in my hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm really happy for you, Nathan."

His cheeks flushed red as he gave me a boyish grin. "Thanks, Mia. It means a lot." He cleared his throat as I released his arm. "I'm gonna head to the mess hall and grab some food. I'll see you around, 'kay?" He started to jog off. I waved and watched him go for a moment.

* * *

John lifted me up so that I was sitting up on my desk as he kissed me passionately. I wound my legs around his waist and locked my ankles, trapping him to me as he ran his fingers through my hair. I skirted my hands under his shirt, feeling the muscle under my fingers. His body shuddered under my touch as I smirked into the kiss. He then moved his hands to my neck as his lips followed. I tossed my head back, a moan coming from my mouth as he nipped and licked the specific spot on my neck that caused my eyes to roll and my fingers to dig into his skin.

John pulled me flush against him; I was almost hanging off the side of my desk as he pressed his lips against mine once more. He bit down on my bottom lip as I tugged on the back of his hair, hair that had grown out quite a bit.

"Hey, Mia, do you have the report— _oh my God are you kidding me_?"

John and I pulled away from each other. I cleared my throat and slid off the desk and faced Rodney who had a peevish expression on his face. John tugged on my arm to pull me in front of him, hiding his growing _problem_.

"Seriously?" Rodney gave us both a deadpan look. "Have a little more tact, please."

I scoffed at him. "It's my lab, Rodney."

"So?" He drawled. "God, remind me to bring disinfectant next time I come here."

"Rodney," John interjected before Rodney and I started beating our chests at one another. "Didn't you come here for a reason?"

"Yes, I did. Did you have a chance to finish that report on the Wraith debris?"

I gave Rodney a sickly sweet smile and flicked my hair over my shoulder. "I was just about to send it when I got a little distracted." I flicked my hand back into John's shoulder as he chuckled.

Rodney pulled a face at us and rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, _now_ would be a good time to send it to me. My weekly dial to Earth is about to happen and I was hoping to send it with that. Apparently the I.O.A are getting crabby about there not being much information on the Wraith as a whole."

"And you think that Mia's information will settle them down?" John asked. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

I rounded on John. "Why do you sound so surprised? I am capable of just as much as Mr-I-blew-up-three-quarters-of-a-solar-system-in-the-name-of-science."

I heard Rodney let out a little scoff as he crossed his arms over his chest. "When are you going to stop bringing that up? It's getting a little childish, don't you think?" His eyes narrowed on me.

I smirked. "Find a way to bring the solar system back and then I'll stop teasing you about it."

"Oh, real mature." Rodney muttered. And just to add more fuel to the fire I stuck my tongue out at him like the mature twenty-seven year old I was. "Just get the report to me, stat." He finished and turned on his heel.

I chuckled at his retreating back and then whirled around as I poked him in the chest. "See, and that it why you shouldn't distract me from my work in the lab."

John grinned down at me. He reached out with his hands and placed them on my hips as he tugged me to him. "At least now he'll think twice before barging in here."

I gave him a dry look and pushed on his chest to put some space between us. "I meant about not getting my work done. In case you forgot, my position here isn't as stable as it once was when I was under your command. If the I.O.A don't see a reason to keep me on they'll ship me away."

John flicked my nose as I scrunched it up at him. I hated it when he did that. "You know and I know that Elizabeth will put up one hell of a fight to make sure that you stay here. You have nothing to worry about with the I.O.A."

I grimaced at him. "I'm pretty sure we have a _lot_ to worry about with the I.O.A—they're the one's that we have to tell in a few weeks that I'm pregnant with your kid." I poked him in the chest again, just for good measure.

John cupped my face in his hands. He kissed me quickly on the mouth. "Stop worrying, you'll get wrinkles before you're thirty."

I reached up and smoothed my thumb up his forehead. "And you don't? You're getting old, John Sheppard."

John caught my wrist in his hand. He was glowering down at me, but in a playful way. "I'm turning thirty-four—not sixty-four."

"Sounds old to me." I said in a singsong voice. "That reminds me, anything in particular you want to do for your birthday this year?" I asked as I fell into his embrace once more.

John rocked us from side to side gently. "Not that I can think of—I've got everything I need right here." His eyes trailed down towards my stomach as they settled on the growing bump between us. "It's getting bigger." He said. I could hear the pride in his voice.

"I know." I groaned slightly. "Soon it's not going to be able to be passed off as just a really big breakfast." I saw John's grin as I scoffed in disbelief. "Why do you look so excited at the prospect?"

"Because." He drawled. "I'll finally be able to give those Marines a nice stern look every time I see them ogling you."

"They don't _ogle_ at me." I defended. "They're just trying to figure out why I don't kick anyone's ass anymore."

John shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You don't see what I do. Trust me, Mia—they stare at you, or rather a specific part of you. I'll be happy to put them in their places soon enough."

I groaned and dropped my head. "Great. Am I suddenly going to turn into one of those girls who needs their boyfriend to fight their battles for them?"

"I don't think you could ever turn into one of them. You'll still put them on their asses, but at least now I can have the privilege of doing it too." John winked down at me.

I heard my intercom on the desk crackle. " _Have you sent that report yet? I haven't got all day here, Sumner!"_ I heard Rodney's voice. I heaved a sigh as John smacked the intercom with his hand, effectively turning it off.

"Thank you." I said sincerely.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

I was sitting in my lab, hot chocolate in hand as I typed away with the other. I took a sip and then placed it down on the desk and leant my head on the palm of my hand. I couldn't concentrate properly, all I could think about was the fact that my stomach was getting more noticeable now and I wouldn't be able to hide it forever. I had even gone to the lengths of ducking to John's room and pinching one of his shirts to wear as it was around two or three sizes bigger then mine. I felt safer wearing his baggy shirt, it obscured my bump better than my own could.

John and the team had headed out on another mission, scouring for space gates again. The whole debacle with Lucius had almost been forgotten around the base, it had taken two weeks for the teasing and jokes to subside from John, but even then he cracked a few when no one expected it.

And Rodney said _I_ was childish.

They had been on a few more hunts for gates over the two weeks, and I think they had found one or two in that time. But, as Rodney put it, they were still lacking behind in finding them.

" _Medical team to the gate room!_ " I heard Chuck's frantic voice over the citywide coms. I jumped up from my chair. I knew John and the team weren't the only ones off world at the moment. But something in my gut was telling me that it was something to do with them. It always was with them.

 **...**

I ran to the infirmary. I dodged the nurses as they scooted around a few beds and trolleys with medical equipment. I spotted Elizabeth standing around a gurney. And then I heard Rodney.

"Get it out, Carson! _Get it out_!"

"I'm trying, Rodney, but you need to stop moving!" Carson yelled back as a few more medical staff crowded around the bed. I squeezed through, and then covered my mouth with my hand so that no one would see the shit-eating grin I had on my face. Rodney. Rodney McKay had a fucking _arrow_ sticking out of his ass.

Carson attempted to prod the skin around Rodney's ass, but the scientist jerked himself away from him. "That hurts! It's hurts! Oh my god I have an arrow in my ass!"

"Yes, I know!" Carson argued, looking annoyed.

Rodney was lying face down on the bed but pushed himself up to look back at Carson. "What's gonna happen to me? Are you gonna need to remove my ass cheeks? I don't want to loose them, Carson! Ah!" He winced and clenched his fists.

Carson whirled around to the nurse at the IV station. "Get me thirty milligrams of morphine _right now_."

I was pushed lightly by one of the attending nurses, she was telling me to move back so that they could tend to Rodney as I moved off. I'd tease him about this later. This was one for the memory scrapbook.

As I walked back through the infirmary, I suddenly realized that the others weren't here. Normally John wouldn't miss the chance to watch something like this. And Teyla, ever the mother of the group, would always be by someone's side, even if it was Rodney. Ronon wasn't anywhere to be seen either. I looked around the infirmary once more, had I missed them? But as I checked, I realized they weren't here. I put it down to they must still be up in the control room briefing Elizabeth on whatever had happened to Rodney on the planet they were visiting.

Just as I was exiting the infirmary I ran into Elizabeth, who was coming in. I caught her just before she barreled into me in her haste. She looked flustered and anxious…well that couldn't be good. It was worrying that John, Teyla and Ronon weren't with her.

"Where are the others?" I asked her as I released her arms. Elizabeth's expression dropped from her face. I suddenly had a sinking feeling in my stomach as my blood ran cold. "Oh no…" I whispered.

"They didn't come through the gate with Rodney." She told me. My breath got caught in my throat. Not again. This was not happening again-no, stop. I couldn't think like this again. They had each other. They would be ok. "I'm sending a team back as soon as Rodney gives us the information we need."

I nodded numbly. This was the shit I hated. I hated not being out there with them. I hated not knowing what was going on, and I especially _loathed_ the fact that I wouldn't be on the team going out to look for them. I could feel my fists clenching at my side. I was annoyed, but now was definitely not the time for it.

Elizabeth hurried into the infirmary, going to see Rodney. I followed after her. Even if I wasn't going to be going on the rescue, I wanted as much information as I could get. The morphine had acted fast as Rodney wasn't screaming in pain anymore. He had also been changed into a hospital gown. He was muttering dopily to himself as Carson stood back, preparing to take out the arrow from his ass. If the situation wasn't so serious right now, I'd have like a dozen ass jokes to say to him. But that could come later.

Major Wells came marching into the infirmary. He was a new Major, recently transferred here from the Stargate Program back on Earth. I had heard good things about him and I assumed he was going to be taking the lead on finding the others. Lorne would've been the one to go but he was currently off world with his own team.

"What's he talking about?" Elizabeth motioned to Rodney as he continued to mutter absolute nonsense.

"I gave him some morphine for the pain," Carson admitted.

Major Wells leaned down to Rodney. "I need to know how many villagers? How far is the gate from the village?"

Rodney lifted his great big egotistical head. "Have you seen a guy around?" He slurred. "He looks like you but he's got messy hair. I think I lost him somewhere. And…and a pretty girl and a caveman."

I slapped my forehead. They were going to be killed by whoever had taken them at this rate.

"I may have given him a wee bit too much." Carson admitted sheepishly. "But he was making it impossible for me to treat him."

"Snap out of it, McKay. It's important!" Wells yelled at him. Rodney began fiddling with the cannula in his nose, ignoring Wells' questions. "What kind of weapons did they have?"

"I'd say something that shoots arrows is a good guess." Carson interjected.

"Let me try." I scooted around to the front and bent down so that Rodney could see me. "Rodney? Hey, McKay look at me." I patted his cheek gently as I watched Rodney's eyes focus on me. His pupils were dilated to the extreme because of the morphine. Rodney got a stupid grin over his face as he looked at me. "Where are the others, Rodney? We need to help them."

Rodney giggled like a little schoolgirl. "Have you given birth already?"

I reeled back, my eyes wide and my cheeks flushing red. I turned to look at Wells with a stupefied look on my face. I forced out a laugh. "He's kidding." I rounded on Carson and Elizabeth who were both as equally stunned as I was. "Sedate him. Before I do it with my _boot_."

"Excuse me?" Rodney called out. He lifted his head, his eye slanting to one side as he did so. "Why am I lying here?"

Carson leaned towards him. "You have an arrow, Rodney, in your gluteus maximus."

"Oh, well that sounds painful." Rodney dropped his head back down onto the bed. "Oh my god! That's my ass, isn't it?"

"Aye." Carson replied dryly.

"Least he still has some brain cells working…" I muttered humorlessly. Elizabeth shot me a stern look and then tapped Carson on the shoulder.

"Call me if he makes any sense."

* * *

I was up in Elizabeth's office with Major Wells. Wells had said that it was useless trying to get information out of Rodney as he was still too drugged up and according to Carson he wouldn't be better for another few hours. John, Teyla and Ronon may not have that much time.

I knew that I wasn't military anymore, but I couldn't just sit back and not be in on all this information. And besides, it wasn't like I didn't have the strategies and training anymore. Just because I wasn't actively going out there didn't mean that I had forgotten what it was like.

"Something must have happened to them." I told Elizabeth and Wells. "They wouldn't just _not_ come through the gate."

"You thinking Wraith?" Elizabeth asked. She was leaning back against her desk, her arms crossed. Wells and I stood opposite her.

"Maybe?" I shrugged. "But it doesn't really explain the arrow in the ass for Rodney."

"A misfire?" Wells offered, glancing over at me. "They were trying to shoot for the Wraith but Doctor McKay got in the way?"

I shook my head. "If there is any fighting involved, Rodney is always found at the back of the group. There's no way he would've gotten in the way."

"She's right." Elizabeth agreed.

"The only reason I can see is that the villagers attacked them for some reason." I looked between them both. "Not every civilization we come across is welcoming to strangers."

Wells scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that Colonel Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla would be bested by a bunch of villagers wielding bows and arrows."

I sent him a pointed look, reinforced by Elizabeth. "The use of lethal force is only for dire situations, _Major_ ," I snapped. "They would never harm people who were only using bows and arrows for their defense." The Major looked at me guiltily.

"Should we send a team?" Elizabeth asked me. I felt a sense of pride well up in my chest at her question. It felt good to be of use again in this department. Rodney's science could suck my ass; I would take this strategic planning over his shitty lab any day.

"I reckon it would be safe to do so." I sent the Major another pointed look. "But the use of diplomatic negotiations in the situation take priority before lethal force is used to save our people."

"Agreed." Elizabeth said with a nod. "Major Wells, you have the green light to go to the planet and rescue our people."

"Affirmative." Wells replied as he bowed his head briefly in respect and then hurried out of the room.

Once he was gone Elizabeth turned to me. "You did great then." She said with a tight smile. "It's good to have you up here again."

I know she meant it in the best way possible, but I couldn't help but pout at her words. "The only thing that would make this better would be if I was actually going on this rescue mission." She gave me a sympathetic smile as I hugged my middle. All of a sudden, the gate started to dial in. Elizabeth and I flew out of her office and across the catwalk and into the control room.

"Incoming wormhole!" Chuck called over his shoulder to Elizabeth. The gate connected as Elizabeth and I waited on baited breath to hear that there was an IDC. Honestly it could have been any of the three off world teams at the moment but we knew who we desperately wanted it to be.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC, ma'am."

Elizabeth grabbed onto my arm and gave it a tight squeeze, letting me know that she was just as relieved as I was. "Lower the shield." She told Chuck with an anxious smile. I let out a sigh of relief and chased after her. We were half way down the stairs when John and Teyla came marching through the gate. I immediately noticed that Ronon wasn't with them.

"Someone get us some vests and guns." John ordered to the nearest marine. His eyes then scanned the room as he spotted Elizabeth and I jogging down the stairs. I met his hazel gaze for a moment as I relayed to him silently about how relieved I was to see him safe.

"Colonel, Teyla, we were just about to come get you guys." Major Wells appeared from the ramp. "Where's Ronon?" He asked him. It was the question I wanted to ask also as Elizabeth and I came to a step a few feet away from them.

"Still back there." He said as a marine passed John and Teyla a vest and a P90 each. "Did McKay get through ok?"

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine. What happened?" Elizabeth asked him.

"Ronon bargained for our freedom." Teyla explained as she shrugged on the vest.

John zipped himself up and then took the P90 from the marine. "By sticking a knife to his own throat. We're going back."

Elizabeth waved up at chuck. "Dial the gate." She ordered him.

We move out of the way of the dialing gate as John looked around at his team of marines that were going to be backing him up. "It took us fifteen minutes to get to the gate."

"The place could be crawling with Wraith by now." Teyla added on.

I stood back and watched them all go through the gate. I felt a deep longing to go with them, but I knew that for now, my place was here. I shuffled over to the stairs and sat myself down with a huff. Elizabeth came and joined me. I leaned back on my hands and stared out at the disconnected Stargate.

"Is this how you guys felt…when I was gone?" I muttered the question quietly.

Elizabeth 'hmm'd' in response. "Something like this…"

"I hate it." I said with a frown. "This helpless feeling. I hate not knowing about what's going on—if Ronon's ok? How the hell did you guys do this for six weeks?" I turned my head to stare at her.

Elizabeth smirked down at the floor, obviously casting her mind back just under a year ago. It was crazy to think that all that had happened less then eleven months ago. And then that made me think of all the crazy shit that had happened since then.

"I guess we just held onto hope." She said quietly. "Ronon's tough. He'll come back."

"He better." I growled out, furrowing my brow. "He still owes me a race once I'm back in shape. That and we have a few more scores to settle with our spars." Elizabeth chuckled to herself. She gave me a sidelong glance, smiled at me and then rose up from the stairs. I watched her walk away for a moment before turning my gaze back to the Stargate. I would sit here all night if I had to. I was going to wait for them to come back with Ronon even if I fell asleep here.

 **...**

When the gate dialed in I jumped to my feet. They had been gone just barely an hour already. The gate connected and John walked through with Teyla close behind and then the rest of the team. I felt the dread and fear almost swallow me up whole when I saw that Ronon still wasn't with them. The marine's dispersed towards the armory but Teyla and John approached me.

"Oh god…" I groaned. "Is he…?" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"He's not dead." John looked adamant. I noticed that he was holding Ronon's gun and holster in his hand.

"The Wraith that came were the one's who were hunting Ronon when he was a runner. It's possible they have taken him to become one again." Teyla told me. I could see on her face that she didn't wholly believe her own words, but she was hoping that it was true.

"We'll find him." John said with determination. He brushed passed me, heading up the control room stairs and towards Elizabeth's office. Teyla gave my hand a quick reassuring squeeze as she walked by me and then followed John up the stairs.

I watched them go. And again, I was hit with the sudden realization that this is what they all must have felt like when I had gone missing.

It sucked. But the thing that sucked the most was that I wasn't able to do a damn thing about it this time.

* * *

"No."

"John, just hear me out." I pleaded.

"I'm not changing my answer, Mia." He said as he continued walking towards the docking pier. I hurried after him, keeping up with his long strides.

"John, will you just stop for _one_ second and listen to what I have to say?"

He halted in his march and then whirled around to me. "I already know what you're gonna ask, Mia. And my answer is still gonna be no."

I threw my arms out in exasperation. "You haven't even heard what I'm going to say yet."

John planted his hands on his hips. "I have a pretty good guess about what it is, but go ahead," he motioned with his hand, "ask away."

He was being petty. I knew he was going to react this way, but I had to try anyway. "I want to come with you."

"Hm—no." He snapped. He turned away from me but I grabbed onto his arm to stop him.

"John, this is Ronon we're talking about. He was there for me."

"Ronon isn't three months pregnant." John pointed out.

I rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration. "I'm not asking to go down to the planet with you, all I'm asking is that I come on the Daedalus. I can't sit around and watch you all go off, risking your lives while I'm stuck here twiddling my thumbs!"

John glared down at me. "You are not coming on this mission, end of."

I had the strong urge to stamp my foot like a toddler but I controlled myself, it certainly wouldn't help with my plight. Instead I returned John's glare with one of my own.

"Stop treating me like I need to be wrapped up in bubble wrap!" I started pacing in front of him. "You're all acting like I'm going to break, that I'm some delicate little girl that needs to be protected and _I'm sick of it_." I gripped onto my hair and tugged on it to release some of my frustration. "I get it ok. I know why you don't want me to come but it's not like I'm gonna go down to the planet and shoot some Wraith up! I will stay on the Daedalus, I promise you. Just let me come, please." John was staring at me. I didn't know if he was contemplating it or if he was stunned into silence about my outburst. Well, I had been keeping most of it bottled up inside for a while now. And now was apparently the perfect time to say it out loud.

"You, and everyone else needs to understand that this is _hard_ for me." I continued. "My whole life has changed, and I'm still trying to adjust to that while no one else's has. Everyone now treats me like I am _incapable_ of doing anything anymore."

"No they don't." John tried to reason but I shook my head.

"Yes they do. But do you know the one person that hasn't treated me differently? Ronon. He's the only person that hasn't tried to bubble wrap me or sugar coat things. So that's why I can't sit here and do nothing. He's like my family now, John, and in case you haven't noticed, I really don't have many of them around anymore. I know you feel the same way, so why can't you understand that I need to be on that ship to rescue Ronon?"

John was silent for a long while. I held his gaze. I wasn't backing down. I had poured my guts out to him, finally spurting out the fury that I had been keeping locked away for weeks now. It was bound to come out one day; I just didn't expect it to be now.

He reached up and tapped his radio. "Elizabeth. Mia's coming with us to Sateda."

I didn't grin, even though I wanted too.

" _Are you sure about this?"_ I heard Elizabeth's reply through my own radio.

John gave a look that said he was definitely not sure about this. "She made a good argument. Besides, she's still a member of this team and I might need her vast knowledge on Wraith mechanics." He met my gaze for a moment. He looked unhappy at me coming along, but I knew he was doing this because of what I had told him. And for that, I was grateful.

" _Alright_ ," she said uncertainly. " _You have a go. Be safe, all of you."_

"We will." I said into my radio. The radio went silent as studied the look of trepidation on John's face.

"Don't make me regret this, Mia." He sighed warningly.,I reached out to grasp his wrist. His expression didn't change as I held on for a brief moment before letting go.

"I won't."

* * *

 _raise your hand if you have a feeling that Mia is gonna make John regret his decision..._

 _I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I can't wait to get to the good stuff in the next one as well eep! xD i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! thanks for sticking around and reading it, it means a lot to me!_

 _REPLIES_

 _Julka212 - bruhhh it wouldnt be mia if she didnt knee someone in the balls, especially lucius xD i'm so excited to write the next part and then let you guys in on the inner workings of my mind from when i was planning this story out. do you know what episode im excited to write, common ground -aka my favourite episode as we meet todd and kolya is back who is my fave villain but that's a little while away anyway xD dude i live for your comments. and i totally forgot the whole twitter thing hahaha but thank bebes youre cute too. fun fact i dyed my hair blue last night lolol see you laterrrrrr skater!_

 _silverhawk88 - Aw thank you! I know, oc stories are severely lacking and I promise to get this finished for everyone!_

 _LoveStoryFanatic - I'm glad! Thank you for sticking around! I know my updates are a bit sporadic seeing as i used to update weekly for book 1 but hopefully ill get back to doing that soon!_

 _JeaneneP - lucius did deserve a kick in the balls. thank you so much!_

 _Adela - Thank you!_

 _Thank my lovelies, see you next time for the rest of the episode!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Breaking Ranks - Exodus**

 _Chapter 9_

* * *

John wasn't happy with our little deal, but I didn't care. I was on the Daedalus and on my way with everyone else to save Ronon. It was great to be off base, I had been cooped up for far too long going stir crazy in that place. Don't get me wrong I loved Atlantis, it was my home and I couldn't picture myself ever wanting to be anywhere else in the near future, but not being allowed to leave it sucked.

I strode down the confusing corridors of the spaceship. I was trying to find my way to the mess hall, as I knew that was where John was heading. He had been giving me a slight cold shoulder since getting on board. I knew he meant well, and he was only trying to keep our kid and me safe, but I wanted to save Ronon just as much as he did.

I took another wrong turn and wound up in one of the engineering rooms. My inner nerd was geeking out at the thought of getting my hands on some of the Asgard hyper drive data but I held it down. There would be time for that later.

"Lost?" A voice said from behind.

I spun around, a sheepish smile crossing my face as I stared up at Colonel Caldwell. "You'd think because I live on Atlantis that I'd be used to confusing corridors by now."

Caldwell smirked down at me. It was still strange to think that we were actually on really good terms now. I had confronted him a few weeks ago about him witnessing a moment between John and I and all he had done was turn a blind eye to it. Beneath his hard exterior, Caldwell was a good guy on the inside, thankfully.

"Where are you headed?" He asked me.

"The mess hall, well, trying to find it." I admitted to him. Caldwell motioned his hand for me to follow along with him. I jogged up to him as we walked together in the direction that I hoped was the mess hall and not the airlock.

"I haven't seen you around as much, Major." Caldwell commented as we walked.

I sent him a sidelong glance. "Oh, well I'm actually not a Major anymore…I'm getting discharged from service."

"Oh yes, that's right." Caldwell recollected with a chuckle. "I remember hearing about that. I'm assuming that you're staying on for other reasons?"

I didn't know whether he meant the other reasons to be John or science, but I wasn't about to ask him to clarify for me. "Rodney seems to think that I can be of assistance with Wraith data and Ancient consoles. That and Atlantis really is the only home I have right now." I told him somberly.

"You don't really fit the type to just sit back and play doctor while everyone else goes off-world to do the daring things." Caldwell scoffed.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to think of something to say. I couldn't exactly tell the Colonel the real reason why I wasn't on an active team anymore; he'd probably have an aneurism. I pressed my lips into a firm line and slapped my thighs with my hands. "Just—turning over a new leaf. I've been in the Army since I was seventeen, I'm ready for a change."

"Hmm." Caldwell muttered with a pointed look. I averted my eyes from him, looking away awkwardly. Caldwell wasn't stupid, he probably had his assumptions but it didn't seem like he was going to say anything on the matter.

"Oh would you look at that, it's the mess hall!" I cried out. "Thanks for the help, Colonel." I patted Caldwell on the arm and then hurried away from him. I could hear Caldwell chuckling to himself as I scooted passed a few personnel and into the room.

Teyla was sitting at a table by herself. Her hands were clasped together on the metal surface as she stared out the window of the Daedalus. There wasn't much to see out there, only the blue hue of the hyperspace window. I approached her table quietly and sat down opposite her. The scraping of my chair had her head shooting over to me. I had startled her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked sincerely. I could see the confusion on her face at my question. I smiled. "It means what are you thinking about?"

"Oh." Teyla breathed out a little laugh. She drew her arms into herself. "I was just thinking about Ronon…"

"Aren't we all?" I sighed sadly. "He'll be alright." I told her. "If there's anyone that can fight off the Wraith, it's him."

"I know." Teyla's smile was strained. "He's just come so far since we met him. I hate to think about all the bad memories that have been brought up again for him."

I looked away and down at the table. Teyla was right. Ronon had been a Runner for seven years before we had met him. He was finally free of that life so I couldn't imagine what it was doing to him right now to be one again. "We'll be there for him. He's one of us."

"The Colonel said that as well. I can't being to thank you all enough for the kindness you have shown me over the years."

"Don't," I said bashfully. "You're gonna make me cry." I laughed and leaned back in my chair. Teyla chuckled and tucked some loose hair behind her ear.

"I am proud to call you my friends."

I rolled my eyes at her as I grinned shyly. "Yeah well, I consider you guys my family. You, Ronon, Rodney, Carson, Elizabeth, John—you guys are all I have left now, I'd do anything for any of you in a heartbeat."

Teyla extended her hand across the table. I reached out to grasp it. "Thank you, Mia." She said kindly.

 **...**

John was loading things into the jumper when I found him. He was shoving a bunch of medical equipment into the overhead compartments. He noticed me entering the jumper when he stopped what he was doing and turned to me. My arms were crossed over my chest, and I could tell that the expression I had on my face was one that John didn't like.

"I know that look, Mia." He said as he reached for another bag of supplies. "You already convinced me to let you come this far, but there is no way in hell I'm gonna let you go with us down to the planet."

"I'm not gonna go gallivanting through the desolate streets of Sateda. I'll sit in the jumper with Rodney and Carson, but I want to be there with all of you."

John finished shoving Carson's medical bag into the netting and then turned to me. "It's not that I don't believe you when you say that, Mia." John said, but by his tone of voice he seriously didn't trust me on that. "But all it takes is for the Wraith to figure out the jumpers location and then _bam_ —you're all toast."

"The Wraith can't detect a cloaked jumper, John." I said dryly. It suddenly sparked an idea in me though. "But don't you think the safest place for me is going to be in the jumper anyway?"

John gave me a deadpan look. He brushed passed me to grab the gun box, which I knew held a LMG. "I know what you're trying to do, Mia."

"Just hear me out." I said as he walked back and dropped he box onto the chair. "Let's just say, by any chance that the Wraith detect the Daedalus they will fire on them, right? Don't you think I'd be safer in the jumper that will be _cloaked_ and _undetectable_ by Wraith?"

"It's not up for discussion. You're staying on the Daedalus." John snapped.

I groaned in frustration. "What you think that as soon as the jumper touches down I'm gonna go sprinting for the nearest Wraith?" The pointed look John sent had my blood boiling. "I'm not that stupid, John. You of all people should be able to understand _why_ I need to be down there with you."

"I do understand, Mia. But you're the who can just can't seem to see that all I'm doing is trying to make sure that you stay safe."

"And I will stay safe." I told him earnestly. "I promise to you that I will not leave the jumper. I have no intention of fighting the Wraith. My only intention is to just be there for my friends. You said it yourself to Elizabeth, I'm still apart of this team, and we don't leave our people behind."

John stared at me for a long moment. He was having an inner war with himself over this. He reached up and laid his hand against my neck. "Sorry, Mia. Not this time." His thumb brushed my jaw tenderly. I looked down and away from him, pouting. His hand moved down from my neck and to my shoulder where he gave it a light squeeze. I stepped back and out of his reach as I sighed. "I understand. Just be careful and bring him home." I met his gaze briefly. He nodded once. I stepped around him and left the jumper.

I wasn't mad. I knew he wouldn't let me come with them, but I still had to try. I was still amazed that he had let me come this far. I knew it was the right thing for me to stay here but all I wanted to do was go with them. I had been completely truthful when I saw I would stay in the jumper, I didn't have any intention of leaving, but I knew I just wanted to be there when they saved him. I wanted to have that feeling of satisfaction and adrenaline again. Maybe I'd just tell Ronon to go and get himself kidnapped after I'd had the baby, that way I could relieve it all once more. I chuckled to myself as I wondered the corridors of the Daedalus.

* * *

"Where's the Colonel?" Carson asked as he poked his head out from the jumper. Teyla, Rodney and Carson were waiting for him. We had dropped out of hyperspace and well out of range of the Wraith ships sensors. All they needed to do was pilot the jumped down to the planet. All that was missing was John. Teyla and Rodney were waiting in the cockpit. I stood near the ramp of the jumper. I was seeing them off, and that was all, but it was still strange that John wouldn't be here yet.

"Probably talking to Caldwell about a contingency plan incase this all goes south." Rodney muttered dryly from inside the jumper. I rolled my eyes at his morbid attitude.

"Not quite, McKay." John appeared from the right. My eyes flicked down to his hand, which held a tactical vest and a sidearm holster. The glock was in his other hand. I did a quick scan of everyone present. They all had their vests and guns strapped to their thighs, even John.

But that couldn't possibly mean…

John extended the vest out to me. "I want your word that you will not leave that jumper."

"I promise." I said with a sharp nod. I took the vest and shrugged it on quickly and then strapped on the holster. "What changed your mind?" I asked him lightly.

"I need to keep trusting you to make the smart choices." John said as he fingered the glock cautiously. "I don't want you to resent me—or us because I didn't allow you to save a friend. When we tell these stories to our kid when they're older I want you to be able to say that even though you were pregnant you still did everything you could to help a friend in need."

I tilted my head to the side, letting John see the appreciation I held for him right now. He held out the glock for me. "I hope you don't need to use it, but just in case."

I took it from him, our fingers brushing against one another for a lingering moment before I holstered the gun at my thigh. John turned and strode into the jumper. I followed closely behind him. He went straight to the pilot seat and sat down. Teyla motioned for me to take the co pilot seat once again. She was grinning for me as I moved passed her and sat down in the familiar seat. My eyes roamed over the console, seeing the buttons light up once more. I swiveled in the chair to face John as he reached up to press the button to close the cargo bay doors. He angled his head to me.

"Let's go save Ronon." I said determinedly. I heard Carson, Teyla and Rodney agree quietly behind me as John flew the jumper out of the Daedalus' fighter bay.

* * *

The flight to Sateda was quiet. Teyla was sat behind me and Carson was behind John. Rodney was off in the back keeping tabs on Ronon's tracker chip, making sure that he hadn't been killed yet. I continued to watch the planet draw closer and closer and then soon the hive ship came into view as it hovered above the planet.

I thought about how we could find Ronon now just as the HUD popped up with the life signs scanner. "He's there." I pointed out to John. There were a few little blips on the planet, congregating around one area of the city. It had to be Ronon down there. John angled the jumper towards where the HUD was telling us to go as we descended through the atmosphere.

Sateda's sky was covered with clouds today. Once we broke through I heard Teyla's little gasp of surprise. We had seen the destruction of Sateda on the MALP when Ronon had first joined us, but it was surreal to be seeing it with our own eyes. Even Rodney had come up from the back of the jumper to have a look.

Something caught my eye off to the side of the window. "No wonder we couldn't dial in." I pointed in the direction I was looking. In the distance I could see the remains of the Stargate, a fire still burning. "They destroyed it."

"They do not intend to let him leave the planet." Teyla commented.

"So what?" Rodney added, coming to stand beside Teyla's chair. "We call him a Sitter now instead of Runner?" Rodney chuckled at his apparent 'joke'. John and I turned in our seats to stare back at Rodney with deadpan expressions. Teyla and Carson joined in on the blank looks towards the scientists. "Oh come on, it's a joke."

"What do we call you now then? Target practice?" I said smugly. Rodney rolled his eyes.

"At least we can actually sit down, McKay." John added.

"Oh har har, more ass jokes…" Rodney drawled.

I shook my head as I faced the front. "You started it."

"I think we're approaching the building that Ronon is in." Teyla cut in, leaning over my shoulder to point it out. She effectively cut off any more arguments between us. John turned his attention back to flying the jumper as he landed it on top of the roof. The HUD screen changed to a layout of the building. It had around ten levels and thankfully there was one little blip all on their own on the six level.

"That has to be Ronon." I said to John and Teyla as they bounced up from their chairs. I followed them with my eyes and then switched to the pilot seat in case I needed to make a quick getaway before John got back.

"Stay in radio contact." John told me as he pressed the safety off his P90. Teyla did the same. I hit the button for the cargo door to open. Both Teyla and John hurried out as I closed the door back up. Rodney moved into the chair next to me, his fingers resting against the console as his leg began to tap furiously. He was nervous, we all were. Carson stood behind my chair, his hands resting against it.

Something on the HUD had me swearing. The others saw it too. I looked at the two little dots of John and Teyla hurrying down the levels until it looked like they had reached where Ronon was hiding out. There was no movement from them for a minute before Rodney hit his radio.

"What is going on down there? You have at least twenty-five Wraith closing in on your position from ground level." I waited with Carson and Rodney for his reply. The Wraith had begun to move into the building.

" _It seems Ronon doesn't want to leave."_

"Well, too bad!" Rodney yelled into the radio. "You tell that ungrateful example of un-evolved humanity that we came all this way to rescue him, so he'd better get off his ass and get back to the jumper!"

I smacked Rodney on the shoulder, sending him a particularly violent glare that he proceeded to ignore. I had a feeling that once there were Wraith on the planet that Ronon might not want to leave until they were all dead. He had a personal vendetta against the Wraith. He would never run from a fight, least of all a Wraith that had turned him into a Runner again.

"Why aren't you moving?" Rodney called into his radio again.

" _Ronon wants to take care of a few things first."_

"Oh really? Like what?" Rodney drawled sarcastically into his earpiece. My eyes were drawn to the HUD where I could see the Wraith closing in on their position. My fingers itched to the glock at my thigh. I wanted to get out there and help, but I remembered my promise to John. I wasn't going to break it.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Rodney roared into the radio.

" _Ronon thinks he can get the head Wraith responsible for all this to come and fight him if we kill all these Wraith first."_

"That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard." Rodney remarked. I shot Carson a worried look over my shoulder as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

" _I don't know. Killing a bunch of Wraith always seems like a good idea to me._ "

"They outnumber you twenty-five to three."

Carson leaned forwards. "Actually it's twenty-two to three…twenty-one…"

" _And Ronon appears to be quite angry."_ Teyla added in.

Rodney scoffed indigently. "Oh, that evens it out. You do realize that there is a hive ship in orbit capable of blowing us all off the face of this planet?"

"Rodney I don't think they're listening anymore." I offered with a shake of my head. I continued to watch the screen with both men.

They were down to eleven Wraiths when I saw a dart fly overhead and beam down six more Wraiths outside the building. They headed inside and headed to the nearest stairwell, which was where John currently was, according to his position on the scanner.

I hit my radio. "John, Teyla, six more Wraith have been beamed down. They're heading for you on the West side."

There was static for a moment. " _The Colonel and I have been separated. One of the Wraith self destructed and brought some of the structure down on us._ " Teyla informed me. My stomach leapt up into my throat. My eyes scanned over the screen.

"Can he hear us?" Carson asked from behind me.

"I don't know. John!" I hit the jumper's radio to try and contact him as well. "John if you can hear me you have six Wraith coming up on your six. Teyla can you get to him?" I asked her desperately. From the empty reply from John we had to assume that he couldn't hear us because the signal wasn't getting through the debris. Or his radio was broken.

" _I'm trying but Ronon has gone off and I cannot reach him. There are Wraith in the corridor that would allow me to get to the Colonel but I would need to take them out first."_

"You just be careful Teyla. I'm coming." I rose up from the chair as Rodney and Carson did the same.

"What?" Rodney barked out.

"Mia, you can't!" Carson argued. I shoved passed the doctor and drew my glock.

"I'm not gonna waste time arguing with both of you about this. John can't hear us, he doesn't know about the Wraith coming up behind him. You can see that he's already pinned down by three, he's not gonna live if I don't get there in time." I smacked the cargo bay door mechanism as it started lowering down.

"I'll go instead." Rodney offered. He looked like he was about to wet his pants. I smiled and gave them both a sympathetic look.

"Don't start being heroic, Rodney. You'll get yourself killed. Keep me informed about the Wraith's location and this will be over before your know it." I turned and bolted out of the jumper.

"Mia!" I heard Carson scream after me. I didn't look back as I shoved open the door with my shoulder and ran into the desolate building. I just really hoped I didn't get killed.

* * *

The adrenaline pulsing through my veins was a welcomed feeling. It spurred me on as I sprinted down the stairs. I could hear the sounds of Wraith stunners and Ronon, Teyla and John's gun off in the distance. I reached level five, one level below John as I sprinted along the barren corridor. From where he was pinned down, I needed to go down and around to reach him and flank the Wraith from behind to save him.

" _Mia there's two Wraith on the stairs coming up. They're part of the new group that came in._ " Rodney's voice spoke into my ear as I silently thanked him.

I swung around the bannister and aimed my gun up at the stairs. The two drones spotted me immediately as I fired on the first one. Two bullets went straight into the Wraith's forehead as it dropped over the bannister. The second Wraith shot his stunner off at me as I dodged to the left and then fired off a single bullet into his head. That one too dropped over the bannister. I smirked to myself as I hurried up the stairs. "Still got it."

" _He's in one of the rooms at the end of the corridor. There's a Wraith in there with him and three more flanking him from behind._ "

"On it." I called into the radio. I launched myself up onto level six and ran down the corridor. I had the sinking feeling that a Wraith was going to jump out on me but I knew that the only ones were down at the end, unless Rodney was lying to me.

" _Oh shi—Mia there's one coming up on your left!"_ Rodney yelled out as I stopped and braced one of my hands on the doorframe and swung myself into the room. My eyes narrowed on the lone Wraith trying to blast their way through the wall to get to John as I shot off three times and the Wraith dropped dead to the floor.

I growled up at the ceiling. "A little more warning next time, Rodney!" I yelled.

" _Sorry."_

I spun out of the room and raced towards the end corridor. I could hear the gunfire clearly from John as he was trying to hail Teyla and myself on his radio. I could hear Teyla talking into my ear saying that she was on her way to mine and John's location but then it was suddenly turning into static. The debris is this part of the building wasn't letting the radio signal out. So now I was on my own. I rounded the corner and saw the three Wraiths firing their stunners into a wall outcropping that John had to be hiding behind.

I fired into the first Wraith, taking him down quickly as the other two turned to the new threat. I dodged to the side, missing a stunner as P90 fire took down the Wraith on the left. I recovered and shot into the Wraith on the right as it went down.

It suddenly all went silent as I lowered my arm and stepped further into the corridor. John appeared from around the wall as he halted in his tracks. His P90 hung down at his side as he stormed over to me, his expression mirroring his walk.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" He roared at me. He stopped just before me, a few feet between us.

"Saving your life, that's what." I replied back as I motioned to the dead wraith around us.

"Where's Teyla?" He barked out. He moved passed me and ducked his head out into the corridor to make sure that there weren't anymore wraith around us.

"That's why I'm here. Teyla couldn't get to you, we couldn't reach you on the radio so I came down here to save your ass."

"You shouldn't have come." He snipped. He grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards the stairs that I had just come from. I wrenched myself out of his grip and stood my ground.

"Who did you expect to come then? Rodney? _Carson?_ You can't be mad at me for coming down here to help you!"

"You told me you were going to stay in the jumper!" John bellowed. His chest was heaving. He looked like he wanted to shoot me. Hell if this was another time and place he just might've. "You can't even follow a simple order, Mia!"

"I'm not under your command anymore, John!" I shouted back. This really wasn't the time to be having an argument. I didn't even know if all the wraith were dead at this point. A new wave could be coming for us and we wouldn't have the faintest idea because we were too busy having a fight. "You can't order me to do anything. I came down here because I wasn't going to watch you _die_!"

"And what would've happened if you'd have been killed, Mia?" John said bitterly. "Do you really think that I would be able to live with myself had you and our baby been killed by the wraith trying to get to me? You're only thinking about yourself once again!"

I grit my teeth, rage was coursing through my veins as I lashed out and shoved John hard. He stumbled back, shock on his face. "I wasn't thinking about myself, you asshole. I was thinking about you!" John's anger matched mine as he glowered down at me. I balled my fists up in my fury. "Do you think I could've lived with myself had you died while I was sitting up there, watching it happen? I am only ever thinking about you, John. So be mad, hate me, but I am not sorry for coming down here."

I heard footsteps on the stairs. John and I turned suddenly just as Teyla came barreling around the corner, out of breath. "Are you both alright?"

"We're fine, thanks to me." I said sourly, taking a step away from John. Teyla's gaze flicked between us both.

"The wraith have been dealt with. Ronon is just above us."

"I'm coming." John told her. I saw him turn towards me but I ignored him. He was being a dick and he deserved the cold shoulder. "Teyla, take Mia back up to the jumper—"

"I can get there myself." I snapped at him. I met his gaze briefly. He was still mad with me, that hadn't changed. Teyla looked away awkwardly as I let out a frustrated huff and marched off.

 **...**

I arrived back at the jumper as both Carson and Rodney were turned in their chair to look at me. I folded my arms over my chest and fell back into the chair behind them. "Apparently doing the wrong thing for the right reasons condemns you."

Carson and Rodney didn't say anything to me; they probably didn't want to get into the middle of it. The door closed and Rodney flew the jumper up off the roof and down towards where Ronon and the head wraith were having their battle. I watched in worry, the wraith seemed to beat the shit out of him. Ronon didn't look too good. He was bleeding from various parts of his head and body. I was about to shout at the men to shoot the wraith into oblivion with a drone when Carson leaned forwards in his chair and concentrated.

"If he doesn't like it he can sue me."

I heard the weapons pod activate as a drone came flying out and hit the wraith. Ronon was dropped to the ground on his face. The drone exploded, killing the Wraith. Rodney was backing up the jumper as I saw John and Teyla run out from the building and over to Ronon and hauled him to his feet.

The hive ship fired just a few meters away from us. The shockwave rocked the jumper as my hands flew out to the chair in front of me to brace myself. John and Teyla came running into the back of the jumper, dragging a nearly unconscious Ronon by the arms.

"Go!" John yelled at Rodney. Rodney took the controls and began to fly us out of here while activating the cloak at the same time.

When we were far enough away from the planet Carson and Rodney moved into the rear compartment. I remained seated but moved myself around in the chair to see them all.

"Is everyone ok?" Carson asked them. Teyla was panting, John looked pissed still and Ronon looked exhausted.

"We are ok." Teyla said with a smile.

"Which one of you killed the wraith?" Ronon growled up at the two doctors. I furrowed my brow in confusion, why the hell was Ronon angry?

"That would be me." Carson smiled proudly.

"My idea." Rodney's ego added.

I watched as Ronon got to his feet and glowered down at them both. "Ronon." Teyla said his name sternly.

Carson's smile dropped off as he took a hesitant step back. "What? Don't tell me you're not happy that he's dead."

"I had him in my sights, but Ronon said he'd kill me if I shot him." John muttered grumpily.

"It was all Beckett's idea," Rodney pointed at Carson nervously, throwing him under the proverbial bus. Ronon took a threatening step towards Carson, grasped onto his jacket and then pulled him into him to hug him.

"Thanks, Doc." Ronon mumbled.

Carson looked like he had just seen a pig fly. Rodney's jaw dropped open in disbelief. "What, him you thank?"

Ronon pulled away from Carson and looked round at all of us. "Thank you. All of you."

"Oh, don't mention it." Rodney said flippantly.

"How about you sit down and I get that tracking device out of you and deactivated before that hive ships gets a bead on us?" Carson offered Ronon as he sunk back down onto the bench. "I take it this time you won't mind if I give you a sedative?" Carson chuckled just as Ronon's eyes slid shut and he face planted the ground, unconscious. "…Or not."

I smirked, thankful that Ronon was safe and that we were all safe. I watched Carson bend down to Ronon as Teyla was hovering around, being the mother hen as always. My gaze lifted and I caught John staring at me for a moment before he looked over at Rodney. I couldn't tell what he was feeling as he had put his emotional wall up, something he always did when he was bottling up his emotions.

"Who's flying the ship?"

Rodney pointed to himself. "Me…oh." Rodney ducked back into the cockpit as I moved myself into the co pilot seat. I wasn't about to make a fuss at Rodney flying. I was just going to keep to myself and keep quiet until John and I could talk about this in private. Couldn't wait for that…

* * *

I walked into the Daedalus' infirmary with a sandwich in hand and a bottle of Ronon's favorite drink, cola. He had an unhealthy obsession with the stuff since he had first tried it on Atlantis. It was probably going to make Carson have a fit if he saw it but knowing Ronon he'd down it in three seconds flat.

It was pretty empty in the infirmary. Ronon was the only patient and it looked like there was only one nurse on duty filling out some paperwork. Ronon was hooked up to an IV drip. Carson had extracted the chip and patched up all of his injuries, the worst of it had been his leg as he had tried to take out the metal shards himself and had torn his muscle. It would take him a few weeks to recover from that, so no running and sparring for him for a while. He had been severely dehydrated so that was why he was still hooked up. And I think the only reason Ronon was still lying in the bed was because he was still too weak from his leg to even walk yet.

He noticed me approaching and rolled his head over to see me. His dark eyes narrowed in on the food and drink in my hand. "I come bearing gifts." I said happily as I reached his bed. "But don't tell Carson I snagged this for you." Ronon smirked and took the sandwich and drink from me as he popped open the can and drank greedily. "How are you feeling?" I asked. I pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Fine." He said, wiping away the dribble. "Tired."

"I'll bet. You spent nearly twelve hours fighting the wraith. I'm glad you're back though."

"Same." He ripped open the packaging of the sandwich. "Don't get free food anywhere else."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're just saying that but you love us really."

Ronon munched for a long while as he stared over at me. He flushed his food down with another swig of the cola. "Sheppard told me what happened."

"Did he now?" I raised my eyebrow at him. I leaned back in the chair and sighed. "What did he say?"

"Just that you didn't listen to him, could've got yourself killed—I kinda tuned out after a while."

I rubbed my temple. This was ridiculous. "I know he means well, and I know that there was a good chance that he would've gotten himself out of that mess he was in but what if he hadn't? What if we had lost him, what then?"

Ronon shrugged at me. He wasn't really paying attention; he was more interesting in polishing off his sandwich.

"I promised him I would stay in the jumper, and I didn't. He got mad because he got scared. And John doesn't know how to express his emotions so he did the only thing he knew which is to get angry and yell. We're both the same like that. We suck at telling the other how we really feel and prefer to just argue instead of admitting the truth. It's infuriating."

"Shouldn't you be telling him this?" Ronon mumbled with his mouth full.

"Probably." I sighed. "But I can't find him. He's avoiding me, typical John Sheppard deflection. If he can't see the problem then there is no problem." I drawled bitterly as I rested my feet up on Ronon's bed.

"You should talk." Ronon said as he leaned back on his pillow and drank the rest of the cola. He scrunched it up in his hand like it was a dead leaf. "No use avoiding. The longer you both take the worse it'll be."

"Are you giving me relationship advice?" I asked in disbelief. Ronon smirked over at me. I rubbed my face tiredly. "Now I really know I messed up."

Ronon chuckled and tossed the can over at me. It smacked me in the face as I gasped and clutched it tightly in my hand. I flicked it back over to him as he caught it with one hand as I laughed along with him.

* * *

John, Teyla, Rodney and myself flew in the jumper down to Atlantis. Carson and Ronon were getting beamed straight to the infirmary, much to Ronon's chagrin. Teyla was flying as John's co pilot and I had pretty much dragged Rodney along for the ride, as he would be used as comic relief during the tense flight.

It was only a couple of minutes, but Rodney's whining about how he could've already been back on Atlantis and heading for his shower kept the awkward silence from encroaching on all of us. John and I hadn't spoken. We had barely looked at each other, so I knew it was bad between us. I couldn't remember the last time we had fought like this. He was purposefully ignoring me; I wasn't doing much to help the situation either. I sat myself in the back of the jumper, twiddling my thumbs as John landed us in the jumper bay.

Teyla and Rodney were out of their seats as soon as they felt the jumper touch down. The cargo bay door opened and it had barely kissed the ground before they were both hightailing it out of here. I wanted to yell at them for ditching me, but if I had been in their position I probably would've done the same thing.

John stood up from the chair and walked by me. He was seriously going to leave without saying anything? I held back my scoff.

"Are you seriously not going to talk to me?" I asked in irritation.

John paused at the exit of the jumper. He bowed his head and seemed to take in a deep breath. "What do you want me to say, Mia?"

I stood up from the bench. "I don know, anything? I want you to talk to me about what you're feeling so that we can work this out."

"There's nothing to work out. You ignored my order, put yourself and our baby at risk, _again_ , and yet you can't see why I would be mad about all those things?"

"I had every intention of staying in that jumper." I told him. He still hadn't turned around to me so I was talking to his back. "I was going to keep my promise. But as soon as I saw you getting cornered I got scared. I didn't want to loose you like I have in the past. I didn't think about me or the baby…all I knew was that I had to make sure that you were safe."

John finally faced me. His brow was furrowed. "And that's where _you scare me_ , Mia. In those situations you should be thinking about yourself and our baby, but you don't. It makes me think that…that…" He trailed off, uncertainty lacing his voice.

"That what?" I growled. I knew where he was going with it.

"That you don't want it."

I knew that it was what he was implying, but to hear it come out of his mouth sent bile rising in my throat. A heavy feeling settled on my chest as I shook it off. I set my face into a hardened glare. "Don't even try to pin my actions on that assumption. I have fought for _you_ , for this _baby_ even when you didn't know about it. I made a mistake, I make lots of them in case you didn't realize it's just who I am. I am _not_ perfect, and I never will be!"

"I'm not asking you to be perfect, Mia." John protested. "I just want you to stop and think about our future for a change. I told you this when I found out about the baby that we come second. He comes first for me now, as he should for you."

"Well I'm not ready to give you up just yet, John. I love this baby, and if I knew for a second that I wasn't capable of taking out those wraiths and surviving I never would have gone for you. But if there comes a time where you are in danger again and I need to save you, so help me God I would do it again. The only way you'll keep me away is if you ground me…" I scoffed at him. "…Or send me back to Earth." I said sarcastically.

John's look of defeat had me stumbling back a step. I met his sorrow filled gaze as my mouth parted in shock. I shook my head. "You're not…gonna send me back, are you?" I asked him fearfully. I felt my anxiety shoot up. He wasn't denying it. He wasn't reassuring me that he wouldn't do that to me.

"I don't know, Mia…" He turned away and shuffled down the ramp as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

I followed after him, standing at the top. "Wait, John." He paused and glanced back at me. I could see the confliction in his gaze. "If you send me back...what about us? What does that mean for us?"

John held my stare for a long moment. My heart was hammering in my chest like a gong. The bile was returning to my throat as I swallowed it back. I wanted him to laugh it off like he normally would. Why weren't we making up like we usually did after a fight? Had this been the final straw for him? I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes but I refused to blink. I was scared that if I did, he would be gone.

"I don't know about that right now…I need some time to think…"

I couldn't even form a reply to try and get him to stay. I watched him walk away, his eyes downcast to his feet and his shoulders hunched. I felt my lungs constrict, like all the air had suddenly been sucked out of me. I sunk to the ground, my legs giving out as I sat there. The tears never fell from my eyes, they dried up as I buried my face into my knees and held myself together. All I knew was that I had royally screwed up, and there was nothing I could do to fix this.

* * *

 _Oh my lordy lord Mia has screwed up biiiiiiiig time._

 _Here's a little fun fact: Sateda was actually going to be the chapter/episode where John found out about the baby in the original draft for the story lol. But i thought the Sateda episode actually happened before Irresistible so I had to change it to the beginning of the season, who'da thunk? and it was the scene that started this whole thing (their argument was actually Teyla outing her pregnancy to John lol go Teyla) man that was sooooo long ago now, makes me nostalgic!_

 _Anyway. lots of angst at the end of this chapter and going into the next one. I do want to say with Mia, she does love her baby and she does want it, but some women are just not as maternal as others. With the type of person Mia is, and the upbringing she had (no mom, absent dad) she would be finding it difficult to understand what it means to be a parent as she has never really had one in her life. I'm trying to keep it realistic here, but at the same time i dont want it to come off as Mia hates the baby, ok glad i got that off my chest lol_

 _REPLIES_

 _thompsonmaria9 - oh yeah, he definitely regretted it hahah and now mia is for sure rethinking her life choices right now lol_

 _Guest - oh thank you! Hope i didnt disappoint ._

 _Julka212 - I've been waiting for the opportune moment to have rodney walk in on them hahaah Mia is one to hold grudges so the solar system joke will always appear at random times lol ohhhh i have a plan for it to be announced just wait and hopefully it'll be in a way that no one suspects xD john totally regrets his life choices, as does mia now hahaha but oph shit this ending was angsty as fuuuuu. yes its blue! maybe ill put a pic on twitter when ive washed it again lol i dont want it to fade quickly lol see you later hunnayyy_

 _GoldenGod48 - close but no cigar xD she went all tomb raider on them lol_

 _JeaneneP - She didn't get hurt, it's ok im not that mean! She just got hurt in a different way.. but it had to happen for her to finally open her eyes!_

 _teekee hut - It so did not go as planned. she does not suit it no, but hopefully one day she'll come around to it!_

 _LoveStoryFanatic - Thank you! It will be revealed to everyone soon, i have it all figured out and hopefully it'll be worth the wait xD I do in fact have a few chapters that will be my own 'original' episodes so to speak. For the most part I will be following along for now but i have an 'episode' planned for later down in season 3 that i'm sure all of you will get a kick out of it. I've actually foreshadowed some of it already in earlier chapters ;) my secret tho!_

 _Adela - Thank you! Yes he's totally regretting it!_

 _Thank you everyone! I'm actually so proud of myself for smashing out these chapters so close together! Next chapter will be solely focused on John and Mia's relationship and all the angsty goodness that we all love (well i do anyway) [current time 12.54 am and i have work at 8am. CRIESSSSSSS im doing this for all of youuuuuu]_


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